


Add A Little Sugar

by Pappels (SabakuNoKel)



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Canon Disabled Character, Falling In Love, Getting Together, M/M, Rimming, Sugar Daddy, more like attempted sugar daddy-ing, take note of that rating change kiddos ;), tw: car accident (past)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-11-15 20:10:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11238291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SabakuNoKel/pseuds/Pappels
Summary: Maui is a typical starving college student. Tamatoa has a questionable interest in him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It was only a matter of time until my brain concocted a fic that couldn't be done in the canon setting so here we go my first Human AU (there will still be crab Tama fics don't worry my boy is beautiful in all forms). It's been a long time since I've attempted a multi chapter so I hope I can actually keep it up, I plan to update on sundays but who knows really. Now let's get this show on the road!

Maui stood in line at the local coffee shop waiting to place his order. He wasn't supposed to spend any money on coffee but his roommate had drank the last of it (Makeiko was a good guy but when he was studying he tended not to pay attention to whose stuff he was grabbing) and he needed to finish his essay before class and that wasn’t going to happen without coffee.

The line moved slowly, people shuffling forward like a pack of zombies as Maui suppressed a yawn. His shift had run late last night and he'd set his alarm an hour early so he could get his essay finished so he was barely staying awake, the promise of caffeine the only thing keeping him standing. He hadn't had breakfast yet either and the tantalizing smell of freshly baked pastries had his stomach rumbling loudly, which he ignored.

Finally, like the parting of the Red Sea, the line cleared and it was his turn to order.

"Good morning, what can I get you today?" The barista greeted to which he mumbled a greeting back. "Just a black coffee. Thanks." She told him his total and he handed over the money, pointedly not thinking about how he could get a whole bag of coffee grounds for the same price. Stepping over to the pickup till Maui waited for his drink as he looked around for a spot to set up. Luckily there was a table free which he quickly rushed to once he had his coffee in hand.

He'd gotten his books out and had his laptop sitting in front of him as it chugged through its startup with great effort, the background lull of early morning conversations just the right amount of noise for him to focus on his work as he sipped his drink.

"Is this seat taken?" Maui looked up from his book to find a guy in a fancy suit, one hand on the chair across from him while he held up a tray of food with the other. The stranger was older than him by at least a decade, his long hair pulled back into a low ponytail and his stance was slightly off, leaning more towards the right side though it was hardly noticeable to anyone who didn’t pay attention to stuff like that.

Maui shook his head. "No, go right ahead." He pulled his laptop closer so the guy could place the tray down, his eyes growing wide when he saw the sheer amount of food that was on it. It looked like he'd grabbed one of everything on the menu and Maui felt his mouth water at the sight and smell of so many delicious treats.

The guy chuckled.

"Help yourself."

Maui blinked as the stranger seated himself. "Excuse me?"

"I had a big breakfast so I'm not hungry." The guy said as he took the lid off his take-away cup to add sugar to his coffee (though why he felt the need to add more sugar when Maui could smell the sweetness of his drink from across the table he didn’t know). He frowned.

"Then why did you…"

"Everyone in line could hear your stomach rumbling." The stranger said as he leaned back to sip his drink, watching Maui over the rim of his cup.

Maui glared. "I'm not a charity case."

"Never said you were." The guy quirked his brow at him, looking completely unbothered by the glare Maui was shooting at him. Maui tried to stare the other man down but the stranger looked more amused than anything as he calmly set his cup down on the table and licked the foam from his lips, smirking.

Maui's eyes narrowed further.

"I'm not hungry." He said decisively, ignoring his stomach's protest to the lie.

The guy shrugged. "Suit yourself. If you don't eat it I'll just throw it out."

Maui gaped. 

He couldn’t be serious.

"That's a waste of food." Just the thought of throwing away perfectly good food had his temper flaring, remembering all those times he'd laid awake at night unable to sleep because of the hunger.

"So what, I can afford it." Maui grit his teeth and counted back from five (a trick he often had to employ when serving difficult customers) so he wouldn't explode on the man across from him and cause a scene.

"That doesn’t mean you should just throw it out, some people can barely afford to eat."

"People like yourself." The guy said, giving him a knowing look.

He managed to keep himself from flinching. "You don’t know me."

"No, I don’t." Maui got the feeling there was more the guy wanted to say but he just took another sip of his drink.

Maui stared down at the tray. He couldn’t let food go to waste but he didn’t want some rich asshole giving him handouts like he couldn’t take care of himself either.

He sighed as he fished out his wallet. Spending more money now would mean going without dinner later but this guy was leaving him no other choice. "How much was it?"

"I don’t want your money." The stranger waved his hand and Maui caught the glint of gold around his wrist. Of course he didn’t want his money, Maui thought bitterly, that watch alone probably cost more than he could make in a year.

"Well what _do_ you want then?" Because there had to be something, there were few people in this world who did things out of the kindness of their heart and this guy didn’t look like one of them.

The stranger smirked then reached into his pocket and handed him a business card. "Call me."

Maui frowned at the black card, emblazoned on it in gold lettering was a phone number and a single word, Tamatoa.

"For what?" Maui asked the stranger— was Tamatoa his name? Considering there was no other information on the card Maui was going to assume it was.

"Whatever you had in mind." The other man said, shooting him a wink. Maui didn’t know what to think of that but before he could ask Tamatoa had already grabbed his cup and gotten up. "Ta, darling." He said, waving his fingers at Maui as he walked away.

Maui watched him go until he'd left the building, still confused about the strange encounter with the even stranger man. Who just bought someone a boatload of food when they didn’t even know the other person's name? And then ask them to call without giving a proper reason as to why? What did the other man hope to gain?

His stomach rumbled again, reminding him of the tray of food the other had left behind. He hesitated for a second before giving in to snag a croissant off the plate. It had cooled a little but still tasted amazing. He stuffed the rest of the pastry into his mouth, feeling a bit better as his hunger abated.

It was good food but it didn’t change the fact that Tamatoa had practically forced it on him.

Looking down at the card again Maui ran his thumb over the golden digits then scoffed before crumbling the card up and tossing it into his bag.

No matter how good those pastries were Maui definitely wasn’t going to call him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Length of the future chapters may vary but that all depends on which direction I'm going to take with this fic. Also why did I set this fic in a coffee shop when I can count on one hand the amount of times I've been inside one? Damn these fandom clichés for making me think all relationships start in coffee shops!
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Sunday over here so have a chapter!

Maui sneezed as dust fluttered around him. It was almost like dust was attracted to old books or something because even though he cleaned the store up every week it was always dusty again the next.

"Bless you." Moana said from the other side of the shelf where she was re-alphabetizing the history books. She always insisted on helping him when she came to visit him at work and he'd long since stopped protesting since she never listened to him anyway.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." She grinned at him through a gap in the bookshelves and he rolled his eyes at her, sticking the feather duster in her face which had her spluttering. He laughed as she glared at him.

"So what happened after he gave you that totally not suspicious business card?" Moana asked, reminding him that he'd been telling her about what had happened in the coffee shop that morning.

"Nothing much, he told me to call him then he left." He said, wiping the shelves clean with a wet rag before drying them.

She frowned. "Call him? For what?"

"No clue." He'd been thinking about it all day but hadn't been able to come up with an answer that made sense. He'd briefly considered the possibility that Tamatoa had given him his number for a hook up but had dismissed that idea. He'd acted quite hostile towards the other man so any interest Tamatoa might have had in him had to have evaporated when he didn’t immediately drop down in front of the other in gratitude.

Moana finished organizing the pile of books he'd given her, dusting off her skirt as she stood up. "Are you going to?"

"Of course not. Why would I?" Far as he was concerned Tamatoa was just one of those people who liked to rub their wealth in other peoples faces and then expected a bootlicking when they decided to do a nice thing for someone, even when that someone didn’t ask them to. Not to mention the fact that his encounter with Tamatoa had almost made him late for class which certainly didn’t win him any favors. Maui would admit that he'd been able to pay better attention in class because he wasn't constantly being distracted by pangs of hunger but that didn’t change the fact that the other man had practically coerced him into accepting the food he'd bought which didn’t sit well with him.

Moana shrugged. "Don't know. Personally it would drive me crazy not knowing why he wanted you to call, especially after buying you such a big breakfast."

Well, she kind of had him with that one. Every time his thoughts drifted they circled back to Tamatoa and that damned card of his. More than once he'd caught himself staring at his bag where the crumbled remains of it still resided until he realized what he was doing and forced himself to get back to work. He kept telling himself to just get rid of it but something was holding him back, he just couldn’t figure out what.

Moana clapped her hands together, pulling him from his thoughts. "Anyway, Mom invited you to dinner tonight and she told me to tell you she won't take no for an answer." Maui sighed, avoiding her gaze.

"I have a shift tonight—"

"That doesn’t start until six which gives you an hour to come home and have dinner with us." She interjected before he could refuse. He groaned internally. It wasn't that he didn’t like having dinner with Tui and Sina it was just that inevitably conversation would turn to college and how he was overworking himself to pay for it which always ended in them offering to help. He knew they meant well but Maui couldn’t accept their help, they'd done so much for him already and he couldn’t take more without feeling guilty about it.

He was going to insist he really couldn’t make it but then Moana gave him that look she always gave him when she knew just what to say to get him to give in. "Mom made that marinated pork you love."

Damn, his only weakness.

He hesitated, weighing the pros and cons in his head but in the end the promise of delicious marinated pork just couldn’t be argued with.

"Fine, but we gotta drop by my place first so I can grab some things." He said, gathering up his cleaning supplies so he could go put them away. Moana froze, smile slipping from her face.

"Please tell me you're not bringing the chicken." She pleaded.

Maui grinned. "Oh, I'm bringing the chicken." A few months ago he'd bought one of those squeaky rubber chicken toys as a joke because it reminded him of Hei-Hei but as it turned out the actual Hei-Hei was quite attached to fake Hei-Hei and whenever anyone tried to take it away from him the little guy would scream until they gave it back. Maui thought it was hilarious but no one else seemed to agree with him.

Moana groaned. "Guess I'll be sleeping with earplugs tonight."

\---

Maui closed the door behind himself, nearly collapsing against it. He was exhausted. His shift at the restaurant had run late again and one of his coworkers had called in sick so he had to work extra tables to cover for her. He'd barely gotten any tips too and he'd worked his ass off for some of those tables. Stingy bastards.

Fortunately the meal he'd shared with the Waialiki's had kept him from keeling over during the dinner rush since his usual routine of grabbing a quick sandwich on the way to work wouldn’t have sustained him throughout the evening. It was good to see Tui and Sina again too, though he'd been right about them bringing up college and work he'd managed to steer them towards other topics easily enough, keeping the conversation light and pleasant. It had been a while since he'd had anyone to share dinner with it and it had reminded him of how much he missed the company.

Dragging his bag along the floor as he shuffled over to his bed Maui collapsed face forward onto the mattress. God, he never wanted to leave his bed again but unfortunately he had class in the morning and he still had to set his alarm so he couldn’t give in to sleep's sweet embrace just yet.

He turned his head so he wouldn’t suffocate on his own pillow and reached for his bag, simply upending it onto the floor since he couldn’t be bothered to dig around in it to look for his phone.

There was a clatter as his phone, a couple of pens, and a collection of other knickknacks spilled out onto the floor. On top of the pile laid the crumpled up business card that had been plaguing his thoughts all day.

He stared at it. 

Really? If this was supposed to be some kind of sign he was not amused.

Forcing himself upright with a tired grunt Maui snatched his phone and the card from the floor. Smoothing the paper out he stared at the golden numbers, considering.

He still hadn't been able to figure out why Tamatoa had given him the damn thing in the first place and by this point it looked like the only way he was going to find out was if he actually called him. He'd be playing right into the other man's hand though, doing exactly what he wanted and he hated the idea of giving in but as long as he had this card it would keep bothering him until he did something about it.

Checking the time he noticed it was almost eleven already which was a bit late to call but then again Tamatoa hadn't specified a time so he could just deal with it. Besides, if Tamatoa didn’t answer he could say he'd tried and maybe force himself to forget about the whole thing.

Decision made he quickly punched in the number before he could change his mind and waited.

The phone rang once, twice— "Tamatoa speaking." 

Crap.

"Uhm. This is Maui, the guy from the coffee shop this morning. You gave me your card…" He trailed off awkwardly, suddenly worried Tamatoa might not remember him and he was going to look like an idiot for calling at this time of night.

"Maui. Good to finally have a name to go with the face." The way Tamatoa almost purred his name had his stomach clenching funnily despite himself. "I'm glad you decided to call me." When he'd answered the phone Tamatoa's tone of voice had been curt but now he sounded pleased. The other man definitely remembered him then. 

He didn’t know how to feel about that.

"Yeah, well, I just wanted to know why you gave me your card." Maui said, cutting to the chase so he could get his answer, end this conversation, and hopefully forget about the entire experience.

Tamatoa chuckled. "Can't figure it out on your own, babe?" Maui decided to ignore the nickname even as his brow twitched in annoyance.

"If I could I wouldn’t be calling now would I?" He replied with a heavy layer of sarcasm. Tamatoa let out a breath that might have been a laugh on the other end.

"How about meeting me for breakfast again tomorrow." Tamatoa asked, somewhat out of nowhere. Maui frowned.

"Why?" He'd given the other no incentive to ask him out so he was more than a bit suspicious of his 'friendly' offer.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Tamatoa declared which was _not_ an answer to his question.

"That's not what I—" Maui wanted to growl in frustration but didn’t want the other man to think he was getting to him. He took a deep, calming breath. "Fine. Whatever. I have class in the morning so I can't stay long though." He acquiesced. He didn’t particularly want to meet up with the other again but something told him Tamatoa was the kind of man who would pester him until he got what he wanted and right now Maui didn't have the time or the patience to deal with him.

"I understand. Seven thirty sound good to you?" It didn’t since it meant getting up earlier than he had to again but he didn’t really have another choice.

"Sure." Maui sighed. At least he could say he had to get to class if he needed an excuse to leave.

"Excellent. See you tomorrow then, Maui." Tamatoa said, hanging up before Maui could reply.

"Yeah…" He mumbled to the silence of his room, falling back down onto his bed with a huff.

What had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maui does not have a good opinion of Tamatoa right now but that will change... eventually.
> 
> Next chapter we get some backstory! Stay tuned yall
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm an hour late with this chapter in my timezone but who cares about that when time isn't real and all that matters is that I actually managed to get this update out in the first place (rly tho this one took effort but its done and its the longest chapter so far so enjoy i guess)

Tamatoa was waiting for him when he arrived at the coffee shop the next morning. The other man was once again dressed in a fine suit, looking entirely out of place outside the simple little shop.

Maui had not dressed to impress, just thrown on a black shirt and a pair of jeans topped with his only jacket which had certainly seen better days. He watched Tamatoa trail his eyes over his form and Maui expected something, some comment on his outfit or a judging look but received neither. 

Well, there was a look but it wasn’t judging.

"Good morning." Tamatoa greeted once he'd dragged his gaze back up, sounding way too chipper for the time of day. Maui was already regretting his decision to come.

"Mornin'." He grunted back. The lack of enthusiasm didn’t seem to quell Tamatoa's mood whatsoever as he inclined a hand towards the door.

"Shall we?" Maui gave a single nod, eager to get this over with as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed the other man inside.

Like yesterday there was a long line of people waiting for their morning fix but now he was even more aware of every second that passed with Tamatoa's silent presence beside him. Standing next to each other like this Maui couldn’t help but notice a number of things about the other man. The realization that Tamatoa was taller than him being one of them. Now Maui was by no means small and while he was quite a bit wider in the chest and shoulders Tamatoa had him beat in height, standing about half a head taller than him—though he could probably add another inch to that estimate if the other fixed his posture. 

Which was another thing he noticed, the sway of Tamatoa's stance angled his body towards him in such a way that if he were to take a deep breath their shoulders would brush. He didn’t appear to be doing it on purpose but Maui was still acutely aware of the other man's closeness. So close in fact that he could smell Tamatoa's cologne; a deep, earthy scent that was subtle rather than overpowering as he'd expected anything to do with this man to be.

A sudden brush against his hand shook him from his thoughts. Maui startled, blinking in surprise when he found the line of people in front of them had dispersed. When had that happened? He saw the corner of Tamatoa's mouth twitch up into a brief smile as the other man dropped his hand but whatever comment he had to have been thinking he kept to himself, which Maui appreciated.

"Order whatever you want." Tamatoa said, clearly expecting him to take advantage of the offer and shower him in gratitude. Maui was reluctant to let the other man pay for him but figured that coffee would at least make his morning more bearable so Tamatoa could huck up a couple of bucks for his usual order.

"Just a black coffee for me." He addressed the barista.

Tamatoa tsked, shaking his head. "I'll have a coconutmilk mocha macchiato, heavy on the toppings. Also some cinnamon rolls, croissants, blueberry muffins, and scones for two, please." He said, handing over his credit card before Maui could protest.

He shot the other man a glare. "I said I just want coffee." He hissed quietly so the people in line behind them wouldn’t overhear.

Tamatoa shrugged, not looking apologetic at all as he accepted his card back. "Too bad, it's already paid for."

Maui crossed his arms over his chest. "And let me guess, you'll throw it out if I don't eat it?" He said, repeating the other man's words from yesterday.

Tamatoa smiled. "Exactly."

Maui threw his arms up, growling in frustration as he stalked over to the pickup till. He heard Tamatoa chuckle behind him followed by the soft tap tap of the other man's expensive shoes as he came to stand beside him again, his amusement palpable. Maui pointedly avoided looking at him as they waited, casting his gaze about the shop for a place to sit instead. There was only one free spot, a window booth, but it had a reservation sign on it.

Tamatoa cleared his throat prompting Maui to shoot him a dirty look from the corner of his eye.

"In my defense, I did invite you to breakfast with the intention of sharing a meal." Tamatoa said, matter-of-factly. "Though if you'd rather have dinner I wouldn’t be opposed." The other purred, looking down at him with half-lidded eyes.

Maui huffed. Dinner with Tamatoa was the last thing he wanted right now. He didn’t say that though since he wasn’t _entirely_ raised by barbarians.

"Can't, I have work tonight."

"There's always lunch."

"I have lunch between classes."

"How about after class?"

"Other job."

Tamatoa quirked his brow at him.

"Two jobs plus college, that's quite the workload you have." Maui shrugged.

"Yeah, well college is expensive and not all of us can be so lucky as to spend all our money on breakfast food." He scoffed. Tamatoa opened his mouth to reply but their orders were called and whatever he was going to say was waylaid as he turned to accept his tray. What was weird was that in the brief flash he got of Tamatoa's face as he turned away Maui thought he saw the other smiling. He frowned, wondering what that was about but shrugged it off and grabbed his own tray. It was probably a trick of the light anyway.

Tray in hand Tamatoa walked off with purpose so Maui decided to follow him. The window booth was still the only unoccupied spot and that's where Tamatoa was headed. He watched as the other plucked the sign from the table and deposited it in the windowsill before sliding into the booth. 

Of course Tamatoa had actually reserved a table in a coffee shop. Anyone else would have just waited for a table to free up but clearly waiting was beneath people like him. Reluctantly Maui took the seat across from the other, looking down at his tray and wondering how fast he could eat his food without choking on it.

"Working two jobs to pay for college must be tough." Tamatoa pointed out, picking up their earlier conversation. "Why aren't your parents paying for your schooling?"

Maui shrugged a shoulder. "Don’t have any." He said, taking a sip of his drink so he wouldn’t have to say anything else. He'd never liked talking about his parents, especially with strangers. To his relief Tamatoa didn’t press him about it or, even worse, offer his sympathies.

Instead the other surprised him when he said, "I know the feeling."

Maui quirked his brow.

"You do?"

"I was raised by my grandmother myself. I never knew my mother and wish I could say the same of my father but I haven't seen him since I was seventeen. Even before then he was never really a presence in my life though, seeing how he hated my guts." Tamatoa said as he casually added sugar to his coffee.

Maui… honestly didn’t know what to say to that. What _do_ you say when someone suddenly drops their heavy backstory on you? "That… sucks? Or not? You seem pretty okay with it, considering." He winced. Probably _not that_. Luckily Tamatoa didn’t seem offended by Maui putting his foot in his mouth.

Tamatoa shrugged. "As the bastard son to the heir of an old family one has little choice but to grow thick skin. I've learned not to let it bother me."

Maui frowned. Tamatoa might have glossed over that little detail like it was no big deal but Maui's curiosity was piqued. How old of a family were they talking about here? He wanted to ask but Tamatoa changed the topic before he got the chance.

"So what are you studying for?" The other asked as he picked up a scone. Maui blinked, not having expected him to show an actual interest in his life.

Resolute, he said. "I want to be a physical therapist."

Tamatoa looked at him in surprise, pastry paused halfway to his mouth.

"Really? Any particular reason why?" The other man asked, a genuinely curious note to his voice. 

Maui hesitated. Explaining would mean revealing a part of his past he tried to avoid talking about as much as possible but seeing how the other had shared his past with him maybe he wouldn’t judge (or pity) Maui for his own.

Taking a deep breath Maui started talking.

"My last foster family, the only people that ever treated me like actual family, encouraged me to pursue it." He paused to glance at Tamatoa but the man's expression didn’t change at all under Maui's revelation. He continued. "They all supported me in it but the one that pushed me the most was Gramma Tala. She had a bad knee, osteoarthritis, that got so bad she had to walk with a cane to ease the pressure. Some days were worse than others though, when she couldn’t walk at all because of the pain. I hated seeing her in pain like that so one day when her physical therapist came by I asked what I could do to help. As it turned out there were a lot of things, exercises I could help her with and making sure she got enough rest and sometimes when the pain flared up I'd even massage her knee. She used to say my hands were like magic." He laughed softly. 

"One day we started talking about college, though back then I had no real plan of ever actually going, and she asked if I'd ever looked into a career in physical therapy. I hadn't but she told me I should consider it, that I was good at helping people and that there were plenty of people like her who need compassionate, caring people like me to help them." His heart still clenched remembering those words. Before the Waialiki's had taken him in no one had ever thought he had worth and he hadn't either but they changed that and for that he would always be grateful to them.

"She sounds like a good woman, and a good judge of character." Tamatoa said, a soft look in his eyes.

Maui smiled. "She was." He missed her but it was because of her he worked so hard to reach his goal, because she believed in him.

Conversation flowed easily after they'd broken the ice and surprisingly enough Maui found himself enjoying the other man's company. They kept the topics light but never ran out of things to talk about as they munched on their food and sipped their drinks.

He was slightly distracted watching Tamatoa lick icing from his fingers when something buzzed against his leg. Pulling his phone out he saw it was the reminder he'd set so he wouldn’t be late for class. Maui frowned, surprised he was actually disappointed to be cutting their meeting short.

"I have to go or I'm gonna be late for class." He got up slowly, in no particular rush to leave even though he still had a ways to walk to campus.

"I understand." Tamatoa said, rising as well. "Would it be too forward of me to ask you to join me again tomorrow?" Maui blinked up at the other man.

"Why? And I want an actual answer this time." Maui said pointedly which had Tamatoa huff out a laugh.

"I enjoyed our morning together and would hate to have to part ways now but if you'd rather we go our separate ways I will respect that." Tamatoa said so honestly that Maui's breath actually caught.

"No, I… I had fun too." Tamatoa smiled.

"Tomorrow, then? Same time?"

Maui found himself smiling back.

"Yeah, tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone is curious I wrote this entire chapter listening to a mix of Dear Evan Hansen and Be More Chill on repeat though I probably annoyed the heck out of my housemate singing along to the songs the whole time, oh well ;P
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An hour late again but then this chapter is also 500 words longer than I intended so yeah *shrug*

It became a habit.

Every morning before class he would meet Tamatoa at the coffee shop, the other man always dressed to the nines and Maui, well if he put in a little more effort nowadays no one had to know.

Their little morning meet-ups had become the height of his day, the thing he looked forward to when he dropped into bed at night after a long day of class and work. Adapting to his new routine hadn't taken long, in fact he'd grown accustomed to it so quickly that when the weekend rolled around Maui already had one foot out the door before he realized it was Saturday and he wouldn’t see Tamatoa again until Monday.

It was surprising how quickly the other had carved a place into his life when he tended to keep most people at arms length. It was hard not to be drawn in by the older man though. Tamatoa was a terrible flirt with a wicked sense of humor that perfectly complimented Maui's own unique brand of insult-based wit. While most people didn’t appreciate his jokes and jabs Tamatoa took it all in stride and dished it right back at him which tended to lead to them ribbing into each other until laughter stole their breaths away. The only one he'd ever had that easy kind of camaraderie with was Moana and he'd known her since she was an eight year old little squirt with the stubbornness of a mountain.

Not to say that Tamatoa didn’t have stubbornness in spades.

The other man always insisted on paying even when Maui insisted right back that he didn’t have to. One time Maui had even offered to pay but Tamatoa wouldn’t hear about it (funny how he was allowed to refuse while Maui wasn't, absolutely hilarious). Still he didn’t just accept it without hassle either, thinking that if he made enough of a fuss about it every morning Tamatoa might relent. So far it hadn't worked yet and all he was doing was giving the other another excuse to patronize him.

"Come now Maui, you're a grown boy you don't need me to order your food every time, do you?" Tamatoa had said one morning a week into their odd friendship.

"I'm just trying to be considerate of your diet, old man. You know if we hurry we might still catch the early bird special at the retirement home around the corner." Maui grinned as Tamatoa's face puckered up like he'd sucked on a lemon.

The other man absolutely _hated it_ when Maui called him old, which he took gleeful advantage of by commenting on it as often as he could. Tamatoa only made things worse for himself by refusing to tell him how old he actually was too, leading Maui to make it his personal mission to find out the other's age. It had taken some time but he'd finally managed to wheedle the information out of him by threatening to sing Happy Birthday if he didn’t fess up, he would even get the staff involved if he had to. 

Maui was halfway out of his seat about to make good on his threat when the other man caved. 

"Forty-one." Tamatoa had grumbled, sulking into his drink. Maui sat back down, satisfied but contemplative.

Tamatoa had nineteen years on him.

To his credit the other man didn’t look it, he'd estimated him to be about mid thirties actually so to find out that Tamatoa was almost twice his age was quite surprising.

It didn’t change anything though.

They still met up for breakfast every day (the weekends being the exception) just to talk and maybe insult each other a little until he had to leave for class. Time seemed to pass easier now that he actually had something to look forward to and reminiscing about his conversations with Tamatoa often had him smiling during the day and made his hours feel a little less long. His coworkers and the few people he spoke to in class had commented on his improved mood and even Moana, who at first had been somewhat distrustful of Tamatoa's intentions, approved of his friendship since he was no longer, direct quote, 'behaving like such a grumpy grouch all the time'.

Life was actually looking pretty good for a change.

And then the looks started.

He started to notice the staff sharing not so secretive glances when they walked in together and some of the other regulars had take to eyeballing them when they thought he wasn’t looking. Maui knew what it looked like, an older man paying all the time, but it wasn’t like that. He and Tamatoa were just friends, nothing more.

Unfortunately other people didn’t seem to get that.

Now Maui once again found himself standing at the counter of the coffee shop for breakfast. He'd ordered his usual black coffee but when Tamatoa had expectantly raised his eyebrows at him he'd added some pastries and a sandwich to his order as well. Satisfied Tamatoa went about ordering his own food and beverage before handing over his credit card as usual. The barista's smile was a little different when Maui didn’t protest to the other paying however, like she'd convinced herself there was something going on between them and his silent acceptance was proving it. Maui wanted to slam his hands on the counter, tell her that whatever she was thinking was wrong, but he kept it bottled up instead as he shuffled over to the pickup till, the weight of eyes prickling at the back of his neck.

He couldn’t help but feel like he was being judged.

The feeling followed him even after they'd sat down in their usual booth—the fact that Tamatoa had somehow permanently reserved it probably not helping to dissuade the assumptions people had about their relationship.

He looked over at the other man, finding him completely at ease despite of what the people around them had to be thinking.

"You know you don’t have to keep buying me breakfast, right?" Maui said. If Tamatoa would just let him pay every now and then, much as it would hurt his wallet, it would go a way towards changing what people thought about them (and maybe restore his pride a little as well.)

"Well until you're capable of taking proper care of yourself it seems that I do." Tamatoa replied with a grin as he popped a piece of muffin into his mouth. Maui scowled.

"Jerk." He lightly kicked the other man's foot under the table but Tamatoa didn’t even flinch. "Still everyone here thinks that we're… _you-know_." He stressed in a conspiring tone of voice.

Tamatoa quirked his brow, drawling. "How very specific."

Maui rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I don’t believe I do." The other smiled. "Why don’t you enlighten me."

Fine, Maui thought, if Tamatoa wanted to be obtuse he would just have to spell it out for him.

"Everybody thinks you're my _sugar daddy_ or something." He hissed under his breath, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard him. Tamatoa breathed out a laugh.

"Does that bother you?" The other asked him, nonchalant as ever. Maui stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Yes!" Of course it bothered him! He didn’t want people to think he was sleeping around with Tamatoa for his money. Especially since they weren't even sleeping together in the first place!

"Why?" Tamatoa asked him flatly. Maui frowned.

"What do you mean why?"

"Why let it bother you when it's not true?"

"But everyone thinks it is." Tamatoa shrugged.

"So? Are these people important to you?" The other man gestured a hand towards the rest of the shop and the people milling about. Maui kept his eyes on Tamatoa.

"No…"

"Then neither should what they think be." Tamatoa declared with a decisive nod. Maui mulled the other's words over, wondering if it really could be that easy to just stop caring about what other people thought.

It seemed to be working out pretty well for Tamatoa.

"You're right." Maui said after a long and thoughtful pause. Why should he care what other people thought? They didn’t know him or Tamatoa so their opinion of them shouldn’t matter.

Maui felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders making him sit a little taller. He'd really let himself get worked up over nothing he realized now. He'd always worried too much about what other people thought of him but he shouldn’t let that sour his friendship with Tamatoa. In hindsight the fact that people thought Tamatoa would ever be his sugar daddy was actually pretty hilarious.

Maui chuckled to himself and Tamatoa quirked a brow in question.

"I was just thinking how funny it was that some people actually thought you'd even want to be my sugar daddy." He said in a joking manner as he picked up his cup to take a sip.

Tamatoa smirked.

"Why wouldn't I want to be?" Maui spluttered and nearly choked on his coffee. Tamatoa, the bastard, did nothing to aid him, just watched him with that damned smirk of his until he'd calmed enough to get some air through his throat without coughing.

"We'll have to work on your swallowing, babe." Tamatoa said, a grin on his face that would have made the Cheshire Cat envious.

Maui glared at him, ignoring the embarrassed flush he felt crawling up his face.

"You can't be serious." Maui waited for the other to tell him he was just messing with him but all he got was a completely straight face.

"Very much so." Tamatoa said honestly, not a hint of mockery in his voice.

Maui felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him.

"But… all that stuff you just said…" He faltered, his mind a scrambled mess. Tamatoa had told him not to worry about what people thought about them because it wasn’t true but now he was saying he wanted it to be true? That he actually wanted to be his damn sugar daddy? What was he supposed to say to that?

"What other people think doesn’t matter. This is between you and me, after all." The other said, making it sound so simple when it was anything but.

"But why? Why me?" Maui asked, trying to make sense of this sudden twist Tamatoa had decided to drop on him.

"Come now, Maui, you're an attractive young man why wouldn’t I be interested in pursuing you?" Tamatoa quirked his brow at him, shooting him that flirty smirk he'd become rather accustomed to but always took as a joke before.

"There's plenty of pretty people out there who'd take your money without the trouble of buying them breakfast for two weeks." He said pointedly, eyes slightly narrowed. If Tamatoa only claimed to be interested in him for his looks—not to mention if he'd only been hanging out with him to get into his pants—Maui was going to fling his coffee in the other man's face.

"Sure there are but its not them I want. It's you." Tamatoa said, completely serious. Maui said nothing but his coffee remained on the table for now. The other continued. "You're special, Maui. A diamond in the rough, if you will, and its that rough part I like about you. You speak your mind freely, you're passionate about what you love, and while some might be put off by your stubbornness I happen to find it quite endearing." Tamatoa smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and Maui's stomach fluttered traitorously.

Turning serious again Tamatoa resumed talking. "Your qualities set you apart from anyone I've ever met before and even if I had a thousand years I don't think I'd ever find someone like you again. You are, without a doubt, one of a kind."

Maui gaped at the other man, shocked into silence.

Tamatoa really thought all that about him? He actually thought he was someone that special when in reality he was just a simple college kid who barely had his life together. Tamatoa had everything he could ever want in life, could have _anyone_ he wanted, and yet here he sat across from him like there was nowhere else he'd rather be.

Maui didn’t know what to say, Tamatoa had made his intentions pretty clear and he'd be lying if he said he hadn't had fleeting thoughts about the other that went beyond friendship but he didn’t know if he was ready for anything deeper to develop between them. It had been so long since he'd been in anything resembling a relationship and with school and work taking up so much of his time he didn’t know if he could give the other man the attention he deserved.

The silence went on and Maui grew more nervous with every second that passed, realizing he should probably say something (anything by this point) before things became even more awkward he struggled to form words, mouth moving but no sound coming forth. Tamatoa chuckled, the sound breaking some of the tension, and asked him about the test he'd been studying for. Maui blinked at the sudden change of topic but was glad for the out it provided and happily went on a ramble about the test and the rest of his classes, Tamatoa cutting in intermittently when it suited him. Soon they fell back into their familiar rhythm of light chatter and mild insults until it was once again time for them to part ways.

After leaving the coffee shop Maui went about his day, going to class and work as usual and shuffling his way home all the while with Tamatoa's words on constant repeat in his mind. When his head hit the pillow that night he still heard the echo of Tamatoa's words in his head.

_You're special, Maui._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I think I need to start time managing my writing better because now I write like 50% of this fic in the 48 hours before I'm supposed to upload and one of these days that's probably gonna come bite me in the ass. I tried to motivate myself to better pace my writing with cake but that just ended in me eating the cake so it wouldn't go to waste x_x
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter this week but I needed to end it where it ended so yeah

Life went on as normal, more or less.

Neither he nor Tamatoa brought up the sugar daddy thing again but Maui could tell things had shifted between them. The other man still insisted on paying for breakfast every morning but the simple action carried more weight now. While before he'd assumed the reason Tamatoa always wanted to pay was simply because he had more money now there was no misinterpreting it, the look the other gave him as he handed over his credit card filled with heat and just that touch of mischief that never failed to twist Maui's stomach into conflicted knots.

He didn’t know what to do. 

Accepting Tamatoa's offer would make his life so much easier but he treasured their friendship too much to compromise it. Then again could he still call the other his friend when his thoughts had turned decidedly more intimate recently?

He felt torn. On one hand he didn’t want to lose what they already had but on the other he couldn’t deny his attraction to the older man. He knew Tamatoa's interest in him ran beyond friendship as well and while that should have made things easier it didn’t. He kept putting off actually making a decision because he was scared. Scared of opening up. Scared of getting too close.

Scared of heartbreak.

He just… needed more time. To think about it. Everything. Maybe if he had something else to worry about for a while the answer would finally come to him.

He should have known to be careful of what he wished for.

That morning he'd left his laptop on his bed while he showered but when he came back out he wasn’t greeted by the usual sound of its fans whirring loudly in protest but total silence instead. He frowned and when he went to investigate he found the screen dark, the laptop itself cold and unresponsive. It was working fine the night before, slow and loud sure, but now nothing. The screen stayed black no matter what he tried and while he didn’t have the greatest knowledge of technology his roommate Makeiko did and even he hadn't been able to fix it. It was bound to happened one of these days, though of course he'd rather it hadn't, but he'd bought it secondhand years ago so it was actually surprising it had lasted as long as it had.

He lamented the loss of his trusty old laptop to Tamatoa over breakfast, the other man giving a thoughtful hum as Maui stuffed his face with cake (he was grief eating, alright).

The next day Tamatoa presented him with a brand new laptop.

"I can't accept this." He said, trying to hand the box back but Tamatoa just pushed it back at him.

"Of course you can, you need it for school."

"I can work in the library." It was Friday today so he'd planned on doing his coursework there tomorrow anyway.

"Are you going to sleep there too?" The other said sarcastically. Maui hated to admit it but Tamatoa did have a point. He barely had time for his schoolwork as it was so while working in the library might work on the weekends it would make things difficult in the long run.

Maui bit his lip, debating with himself as he stared down at the box in his hands.

"I'll pay you back." He declared after a long moment. He knew he didn’t have the money to pay the other back but he couldn't let Tamatoa buy this for him. Breakfast was one thing but this was too much to give to someone for nothing.

Tamatoa quirked his brow.

"And how will you do that I wonder?"

"I'll get another job." He didn’t know where he'd find the time for another job but he'd think of something.

"And work yourself to death? Absolutely not." Tamatoa said, shaking his head. "Besides, I don't want your money."

"What do you want then?" Maui realized they'd had this same conversation the first time Tamatoa had dropped a tray of food down in front of him almost three weeks ago. Looking back on that day now he was suddenly struck by how much things had changed since then.

Tamatoa grinned, a slow pleased curl of the mouth.

"Come to my house tonight."

Maui's heart sank.

So this was it then. Tamatoa was finally going to collect on him.

He wanted to kick himself. He really thought Tamatoa had an actual interest in him but of course he didn’t. All this time the other man had just been biding his time until Maui was desperate enough to take him up on his offer. Tamatoa knew his pride wouldn’t let him accept something as expensive as a new computer without payment of some kind and the other had used that against him. He really shouldn’t have been surprised, after all Tamatoa had told him exactly what he wanted from him but the reality of it still hit him like a brick to the gut.

He'd actually been considering _a relationship_ but apparently all Tamatoa wanted was to fuck him.

Maui fought back the hot burn of tears threatening to spill as his hands clenched on the box still in his lap. He had half a mind to refuse, to shove the laptop back in Tamatoa's face and tell him where he could shove it but he hesitated.

He _needed_ a computer to do his coursework.

If he couldn’t do his coursework he'd fail his classes, he'd have to drop out and all his work would have been for nothing. He'd be a failure and he'd let down the only people that had ever mattered to him.

He couldn’t let that happen.

"Alright." He sighed, defeated. Shame burned its way down his throat as he swallowed dryly. He hated that he was going to have to do this but he really didn’t have any other choice.

The other man smiled, completely oblivious to Maui's turmoil.

"Excellent. I have some things I need to take care of first but I will text you the time and…" Maui tuned the other out, nodding along to whatever he was saying as he stared at what remained of his breakfast, his stomach so filled with dread he'd lost his appetite.

At least there was one silver lining to all this, he told himself.

After tonight he never had to see Tamatoa again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh boy
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 3 30 in the morning and I am at that level where my energy is fluctuating between I could climb a mountain barehanded and I could pass out on any vaguely horizontal surface and never wake up again, yay writing

Maui called in sick for work that night. He didn’t have to lie when he told his boss he wasn't feeling well, nerves turning his stomach to lead. Since leaving the coffee shop that morning he'd spent the whole day in a dread. His new laptop was a constant reminder of the night to come and while it worked like a dream what he was going to have to do to pay for it was anything but.

He tried to tell himself it was just sex, nothing special about it, but just because he kept saying it didn’t mean he believed it. He'd never had any particular hang-ups about sex, if it felt good he was all for it, but the thought of what Tamatoa might (would) do to him was very worrying indeed. What sort of messed up stuff could the other man possibly be in to that he had to bribe people to get it? Would he be expected to go along with it, to fake enthusiasm? _Could_ he even fake it? All this worrying was doing quite a number on the little guy on the south pole and while he'd never had that problem before he wouldn’t exactly be surprised if he failed to perform tonight (much as he didn’t want to do this he also didn’t want Tamatoa to think he had problems getting it up, that sort of thing could really hurt a guy's pride y'know).

At some point between classes Tamatoa had texted him his address and told him to be there at eight. After that every time he looked up at the clock and found time had moved forward it felt like a betrayal from the universe.

Class eventually came to end and Maui dragged himself home, Tamatoa's 'invitation' hanging like a dark cloud over his head. He passed the time fighting down his anxiety in-between bouts of stress cleaning (they had a lot of out of date stuff sitting around in their kitchen cupboards, he should really pay more attention to that) until he had to leave, forcing his own body out the door.

He took the bus most of the way there but still had to walk a fair bit to his destination since the neighborhood was apparently too fancy for a bus stop. The houses lining the street were all huge and stood miles apart from each other—the people who lived here must not care for neighbors—and when he came to the address Tamatoa had given him he walked up the path dividing the perfectly manicured garden all the while feeling like he was headed for his own execution.

Okay, maybe that was a bit overdramatic; it was only his dignity dying a coldblooded death after all.

He paused in front of the door, taking a deep breath as he steeled himself and knocked. He didn’t have to wait long for the door to open and Tamatoa to appear on the other side, his heart giving a painful lurch at the sight of the other man.

Tamatoa smiled. "Maui, so glad you could make it." _Like I had a choice_ , Maui thought but said nothing as he quickly flicked his eyes over the other man's form. Tamatoa had discarded his blazer, appearing a little less imposing in just his waistcoat. His tie was also missing and on his feet were bright purple socks. This was the most casual he'd ever seen the other and it felt weird seeing him underdressed but then he realized he'd be seeing a lot more of him soon and his stomach twisted into knots.

Tamatoa held the door open wider and Maui reluctantly stepped inside, looking around the hall as though it might reveal some hidden secret to him (like a creepy sex dungeon right out of Fifty Shades or something). Tamatoa closed the door behind him, cutting off his exit.

"I'll take your jacket through and you can just leave your shoes in the hall." Tamatoa said, holding a hand out. Maui shrugged out of his jacket, already missing the protection of the extra layer, and handed it over. He watched Tamatoa hang his coat up in a built-in closet as he toed off his shoes and lined them up next to the others. He couldn’t help but notice how out of place his beat up sneakers looked next to Tamatoa's polished dress shoes.

Tamatoa gestured for him to follow and Maui stuffed his hands in his pockets as he trailed after him.

"So what, you want to do some freaky shit to me?" He grumbled. Maui knew he was acting hostile but just because he was going to prostitute himself out didn’t mean he had to be happy about it.

"Oh Maui, you have no idea what I want to do to you," The other man smiled over his shoulder at him and Maui scowled in response. Tamatoa led them through a door, a warm, inviting scent greeting them as the other held it open for him, "but for now I want you to eat."

Maui stood in the doorway, staring. The room opened up to a massive open space, the kitchen to the left and living area to the right but his attention was drawn to the center of the room where a table with enough food on it to feed a small family stood.

Maui regarded the sight with suspicion, a frown marring his face.

"Is this a thing of yours, feeding me?" If this was Tamatoa's idea of foreplay it would certainly cast their mornings in a different light.

Tamatoa chuckled. 

"Not in particular but I can see why you'd think that." The other man waved him forward and Maui hesitantly stepped into the room.

"I can assure you I mean nothing untoward, a good host simply always feeds his guests. Come, sit." Maui hardly considered himself a guest but sat down in the chair Tamatoa directed him towards any way, resigning himself to having to share an awkward meal when he just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

He tensed when Tamatoa stepped up behind him, hand resting on the back of Maui's chair as he leaned into his space.

"Wine? Or would you prefer water?"

Yeah, there was no way he was letting Tamatoa get him drunk.

"Water's fine." Tamatoa nodded, pouring him a glass from the pitcher on the table which Maui really could have done himself since it was sitting right in front of him. Tamatoa moved over to the chair across from him and poured some wine for himself before sitting down.

Maui felt awkward, sitting there with no idea how to respond to what was happening. Tamatoa either wasn’t aware of how uncomfortable all this was making him or he was just really good at playing the friendly host.

"I employ an excellent caterer so I hope the food is to your liking." Tamatoa said, waving his hand to gesture at the spread before them. Maui gave the other a flat look.

"Do you always get a caterer to cook for you or should I be impressed now?" He asked sharply. He didn’t need the other man trying to butter him up especially since he didn’t even want to be here in the first place.

Tamatoa shrugged. 

"I'll be the first to admit that I'm a terrible cook so unless you like your fish raw I think you'd prefer someone who actually knows what they're doing to cook it for you." Tamatoa said, laughing softly. Maui scowled, cursing the other for being so damn charismatic when he was supposed to be angry at him.

For a moment they sat there, neither making a move to touch any of the food. It quickly became clear to him that Tamatoa wasn’t going to touch anything before he did so with a frustrated sigh he grabbed some salad, scooped a couple of roast potatoes onto his plate, and reached for the first piece of meat his eyes happened to fall upon. He speared a potato with his fork and shoved it into his mouth while giving the other man a pointed look. Tamatoa smiled, satisfied, and started filling his own plate.

He'd hardly been able to eat throughout the day for all his nerves and his hunger was finally catching up to him. He swallowed his mouthful and moved on to the meat, which he thought was lamb, drizzled in a green minty sauce. It was an odd combination but he found he quite liked it. When he finished the lamb he tried some of the salmon which he quickly devoured and had a second portion of, he ate that a little slower though no less appreciatively.

For a while only the sound of utensils on china filled the air and Maui found himself relaxing despite himself. It took him a while to realize it was only the sound of his own knife and fork he was hearing however. He looked up from his plate to find Tamatoa watching him, an odd look on his face.

"What?" He frowned. Was there something on his face? Did he do something he wasn't supposed to? He'd picked up random bits and pieces of table manners from waiting tables at the restaurant but he was far from an expert on etiquette.

Tamatoa smiled. "When you've been around obnoxious snobs for as long as I have it's refreshing to see someone actually enjoying the things money can buy. It makes me appreciate the food all the more." He said and if Maui didn’t know any better he'd say he was being genuine. Maui blinked, not sure what to say in response but Tamatoa must have thought the conversation was over because he picked up his fork and started eating again.

Maui looked down at his plate.

"The food is good." He mumbled for a lack of anything else to say.

Tamatoa looked up in surprise, corner of his mouth twitching. "I'm glad."

The rest of the meal passed mostly in silence. Despite the rocky start it wasn’t horrible. Tamatoa would occasionally comment on the food and Maui would hum in agreement and sometimes offer his opinion.

Far as dinners went he'd certainly had worse.

To his surprise they managed to finish all the food too—Maui might have eaten most of it but Tamatoa certainly didn’t hold back. Belly full he could have lazed for an eternity but it wasn’t long before Tamatoa rose from his chair and started gathering up the plates and bringing them to the kitchen. Maui couldn’t sit around while someone else cleaned up for him so he got up and started helping carrying things through. He expected the other to give him some spiel about him being a guest so he shouldn’t feel obligated to help out but instead Tamatoa just took the plates from him with a grateful look.

Once the table was all cleared up Tamatoa rolled up the sleeves of his shirt which had Maui's eyes lingering on his arms for a second before he forced himself to look away.

Tamatoa pulled open the cupboard beneath the sink to reveal a dishwasher.

"I'll rinse if you load up?" The other offered, turning on the tap to run the dishes under the water.

Maui quirked a brow, lips twitching up briefly.

"Didn’t think a rich guy like you would fill his own dishwasher." He said. Tamatoa huffed on a laugh and handed him a plate.

"Just because I have money doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do the washing up. Other than my tragic inability to cook I can actually take care of myself, believe it or not."

Maui chuckled. "Whatever you say, old man." Tamatoa mock-glared at him and flicked water at him.

They filled the dishwasher in no time, Maui drying his hands on a cloth as Tamatoa set the timer. Everything all cleaned up the other turned to him.

"It's getting late we'd best retire for the night." Tamatoa said and just like that it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water over him. He couldn’t believe he'd forgotten what he was there for, he'd let himself slip back into their rhythm so easily that the reminder felt like a cruel and painful joke.

Maui nodded jerkily, clamming down on his disappointment as he followed Tamatoa into the living area and up the winding stairs.

In the hallway upstairs there were four doors, two on the right, one on the left, and one all the way at the end. Tamatoa suddenly stopped in the middle of the hall and faced him.

"The guestroom is on the left, it has an en suite bathroom. Take whatever you need from it. Good night." He said and just like that turned and started walking away.

Maui faltered, mouth gaping. "Wait, guestroom?" He asked before he was even aware of the words leaving his mouth.

Tamatoa turned back around, a smirk on his face.

"Oh, were you thinking I'd invite you into my bed?" The other purred, sounding pleased.

"I…" He spluttered, face flushing. He thought that was what Tamatoa wanted, why else would he invite him over?

Tamatoa stepped closer, leaving only inches between them.

"Don't get me wrong I'd like nothing more than to take you to bed right now and show you all the things I want to do to you," Standing so close together the heat in Tamatoa's eyes had his breath hitching in his chest. "but I'll have you willingly not because you think you owe it to me."

Tamatoa took a step back, looking at him for a moment before he walked away and into the room at the end of the hall without another word, leaving Maui standing there at a loss for words.

After a moment of staring at the door the other had just disappeared through he turned to the door on his left and opened it, stepping inside. He registered the bed and a door which had to lead to the bathroom and walked over. He stopped in front of the sink and found a toothbrush and some toothpaste in one of the drawers beneath it, brushing his teeth in a daze as he stared at his reflection wondering what had just happened.

Even though he hadn't wanted to sleep with Tamatoa to pay him back for all the things he'd bought he'd been prepared to do it but now here he was and Tamatoa didn’t want to have sex with him.

He felt strangely… rejected.

He knew he should be glad but this just complicated everything even more. Tamatoa said he wanted to be his sugar daddy. Isn't that what sugar daddies wanted? To sleep with the person they were spending all their money on, wasn’t that the reason they spent money on them in the first place?

He didn’t get it. He thought he had Tamatoa all pegged, had been so _angry_ , but now all that anger had deflated and he was left with confusion in its place.

He splashed some water on his face and sighed, dragging himself over to the bed where he barely had the sense to shed his clothes before he dropped down onto it.

If the bed hadn't been so comfortable he might not have slept at all for his conflicting thoughts but before he knew it he was out like a light and dreaming of what tomorrow might bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so tired I'm going to sleep for 3 days
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A late one again but I decided to cut and rewrite half this chapter 4 hours ago because I just wasn't feeling it. I usually never have that so close to a deadline but if I hadn't this chap probably would have been delayed even more possibly to next week because when I get in a slump I don't get out but its here now so its all good

Maui awoke slowly, cocooned in warm covers and sunk into a mattress too comfortable to be his own. Memories from the night before came back to him in flashes; Tamatoa's invitation, dinner, making a complete fool of himself when the other told him he could stay in the guestroom.

He groaned, pulling the covers over his head. God, what must Tamatoa have thought of him.

_"Don't get me wrong I'd like nothing more than to take you to bed right now and show you all the things I want to do to you but I'll have you willingly not because you think you owe it to me."_

Maui sat up, suddenly wide awake. Nope, not thinking about that.

A slight chill nipped at his skin and while he would have liked nothing more than to settle back into bed and never get up again he had work later and after last night he just wanted to go home and pretend the past twenty-four hours hadn't happened.

Quickly hopping out of bed so he wouldn’t be tempted to lie back down again he shuffled over to where he'd left his clothes on the floor and fished his phone out of his pocket. He had a text from Makeiko that said _why are all the cans sitting out on the counter?_ which had him frowning for a second before he remembered he'd left in a hurry last night and forgot to put everything back in its place. Deciding to text the other back later he checked the time next finding it was already past nine which was quite late for him since he usually got up around six thirty.

With all the energy of a person who got a decent amount of sleep for a change he made his way to the bathroom. In the shower he found a collection of bottles all labeled in French and after a minute of attempting to decipher them he picked one at random and applied it to his hair, hoping for the best.

At least it smelled nice.

After brushing his teeth Maui exited the bathroom, hair still damp from his shower and towel wrapped around his waist. Unfortunately he only had yesterday's clothes to wear since he hadn't planned on staying the night, assuming Tamatoa just wanted to fuck him and kick him out afterwards. Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts right now he pulled on his clothes, dropped the towel in the hamper, and quickly made the bed before stepping outside after a cursory look around the hall.

As he descended the stairs Maui made sure to keep his steps as quiet as possible. After the embarrassing spectacle he'd made of himself last night he had no intention of sticking around so he didn’t want to get caught doing his walk of shame. 

There was just one problem though. 

He'd have to pass through the living room on his way out and knowing his luck that's where he'd find Tamatoa waiting for him.

At the bottom of the stairs Maui was relieved to find the area deserted but the feeling was short lived as he heard the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen. He grimaced, bracing himself for an awkward confrontation as he turned the corner.

Tamatoa was indeed in the kitchen but the other man stood turned away from him, too busy watching something in the oven to take notice of him. Maui couldn’t believe his luck, sending a quick thank you prayer to the gods as he proceeded to shimmy on by. He'd almost made it to the door when Tamatoa called out. "Leaving so soon?"

Maui flinched, shoulders up to his ears, but didn’t turn around to face the other.

"Yeah, I have… stuff… to do." He stumbled. Wow Maui, _stuff_ , how very convincing. He could have slapped himself but instead he just kept walking, hoping to avoid embarrassing himself any further by leaving as quickly as possible.

Out in the hallway Maui breathed a pre-emptive sigh of relief. He just had to grab his jacket and shoes and he could be on his way.

Except his shoes weren't there.

"What happened to my shoes?" He questioned aloud, brows knitted in confusion. He was sure he'd left them by the door right next to Tamatoa's own. The shiny dress shoes were still there but his own were nowhere to be found.

"I threw them out."

Maui turned. Tamatoa stood in the doorway, casually leaning on the wooden frame like nothing was amiss.

"What?" He asked, sure he must have misheard the other.

Tamatoa shrugged the shoulder he wasn’t leaning on.

"The soles were all worn down, if you'd worn them a month longer you would have suddenly found yourself walking around barefoot." Maui frowned. He knew his shoes weren't in the best of states but just because they were a little threadbare did not give Tamatoa the right to throw them out.

"Those were my only shoes." He said, annoyance bleeding through in his voice.

Tamatoa waved a hand flippantly and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll just have my assistant fetch you a new pair. What size are you?"

Maui clenched his jaw. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Tamatoa buying him more things but it wasn’t like he could leave without shoes either. Figuring he had no choice but to give in he eventually said, "Ten." Tamatoa nodded and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Michelle. Fine, thank you. I need you to run a quick errand. I need a pair of shoes; modern, casual not business, size ten. Yes, from the usual place. Have them put it on my bill. Thank you, darling." He hung up and smiled at Maui.

"While you wait we can have breakfast." Tamatoa declared, heading back into the kitchen. Maui couldn’t help but feel like he'd been set up but since there was nothing he could do about it (again) he begrudgingly followed.

The kitchen was divided from the rest of the room by a bar counter with three chairs on the kitchen side and three on the living room side. Maui purposefully seated himself on the opposite side of the bar from where Tamatoa stood waiting next to the fanciest coffee machine he'd ever seen. A light blinked on the machine and Tamatoa grabbed two cups, filled them up and slid one over to him. The liquid smelled so good Maui didn’t even wait for it to cool down before taking a sip, even though he definitely burned himself he couldn’t help but moan at the taste.

Tamatoa chuckled. "Good?" Maui blew on his drink a few times before taking another sip.

"Why even come to the coffee shop every day when you have coffee like this at home?" Maui wondered after he'd drained half his cup, his earlier irritation almost forgotten.

"That shop is one of my business investments, I like to check up on things every once in a while, make sure my money is being put to good use." He knew Tamatoa was a big league investor with shares in all sorts of businesses but he didn’t know the coffee shop was one of them.

"Every day is once in a while to you?" Maui said, brow raised.

Tamatoa smirked. "Not at all. I keep my business and pleasure strictly separated." Maui stiffened at the word pleasure, not sure if he liked where this conversation was going. Luckily he was saved from finding out by the sound of a something beeping. Tamatoa rose from his seat, grabbed a pair of oven mitts on the way and pulled a tray of scones from the oven.

Maui perked up, recognizing the warm, sweet scent of those particular pastries.

"You got those from the shop?" He asked, watching as Tamatoa plated them up.

"I didn’t want you to miss out on breakfast so I purchased these in advance." Tamatoa explained, placing a plate down in front of him. The scones were perfectly browned and dotted with berries, his favorite. He usually just had a bowl of cereal or a sandwich for breakfast on the weekend so for the other to get his favorite pastries for him when he didn’t have to was actually surprisingly considerate.

"Thanks." Maui said, smiling. 

Like last night they ate in not-uncomfortable silence, Tamatoa only interrupting the silence once to ask how his new laptop was working out for him. Maui tensely replied it was working fine, worried for a moment that the other would go back on what he said last night but Tamatoa just nodded and they fell back into silence. After a minute Maui felt himself relaxing again, the pastries and coffee helping with that.

Maui had just finished his third scone when three loud knocks suddenly rang throughout the house.

"That has to be Michelle with your shoes." Tamatoa said as he headed into the hallway, leaving the door askew. Maui strained his ear to listen but only caught the sound of muffled voices. Tamatoa and his assistant talked for a bit before the door closed again and Maui quickly tried to look like he hadn't been attempting to eavesdrop.

Tamatoa walked back in with a non-descript brown box, brow quirked and smiling like he knew exactly what he'd been doing. Tamatoa presented the box to him and Maui took it and put it on the table, not sure if he should open it or not.

Tamatoa solved that problem for him. "Come on, open it." The other said, sounding much too eager considering he'd only paid for the shoes and wasn’t actually going to be wearing them. Quickly opening the box Maui was glad to find the shoes weren't anything fancy like the ones Tamatoa always wore. They resembled sneakers but didn’t have flashy stripes or other marks on them, instead they were a simple dark blue with brown detailing, classy in their simplicity. Maui didn’t recognize the brand but he could tell they were a much higher quality than what he usually bought.

"How much—"

"Ah-uh, you can't offer to repay me when I threw out your old shoes. It's only right that I replace them." Tamatoa interrupted, shaking his head. "Besides with how hard you work you deserve something like this." Maui stared at the other, trying to figure out if he was just saying that to get back in his good graces. Tamatoa let him look, brows raised expectantly. There was nothing in the other's eyes that suggested empty flattery but he wasn’t entirely ruling it out either.

Maui looked away but still caught the corner of Tamatoa's mouth quirking up.

"You should try them on, check if they fit." Tamatoa suggested and Maui did. After tying the laces he stood, wiggling his toes and finding he had enough space to comfortably move around.

"Much better than your old ones." Tamatoa said, something sparking in his eyes as he gave Maui a once-over that had him suddenly feeling much warmer than before.

Now that he had something to wear on his feet again he told the other man he needed to get going. He'd stuck around much too long already and with work later he just wanted to go home for a bit and think about everything that had happened since yesterday.

Tamatoa didn’t complain, just nodded and walked him to the door. "I'll see you Monday, same time as always." Maui replied with a non-committal grunt and started walking down the path. He felt a little bad about not giving the other a clear answer but right now he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Tamatoa again so soon.

Once he got home the first thing he did was boot up his laptop to look up the brand of his new shoes. One quick Google search later brought him to a flashy website and some clicking around lead him to a part of their collection with prices listed beneath the pictures in a flowy font.

Maui stared at the screen.

Their shoes ranged from three hundred to twelve hundred bucks.

That was… _an insane_ amount of money to pay for shoes.

He looked over at where his new shoes sat tucked in the corner, thinking of all the things he could buy with that kind of money.

He had half a mind to sell them. Even worn he'd probably still get several hundred bucks for them but for some reason the thought of selling them didn’t sit well with him.

Tamatoa said that he deserved those shoes and while Maui wasn’t sure if he believed him _he wanted to_. Along with his new laptop no had ever spent that much money on him when they didn’t have to. Tamatoa had every opportunity to ask anything of him in return too and he hadn't.

Yesterday when Tamatoa had asked him to come over to his house he'd been so sure the other had just been using him and now he didn’t know what to think. Maui sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

He needed to make a phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know you've stayed up too late when you hear birds tweeting outside
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning there's talk of a car crash at the end of this chapter

Moana knocked on his door half an hour after he'd called her.

"Tell me everything."

Maui walked the length of his room as he talked, he'd started out sitting but had quickly gotten up to pace as he got swept up in the whirlwind of emotions recounting everything evoked. Moana said nothing, listening silently, as she watched him pace back and forth from her spot on his bed. 

He told her about last week when Tamatoa had oh so subtly offered to be his sugar daddy, her brow quirking as if to say _seriously_? to which he nodded. He continued saying he hadn't known what to think of the other's offer but then Tamatoa had taken the decision out of his hands when he bought him a new laptop and invited him over to his house. He kept out the part where he thought he was going to have to sleep with the other man (though if her frown was anything to go by she figured that part out on her own) and told her about the dinner and spending the night, putting emphasis on the fact that he'd spent it in the guest room. She actually laughed when he told her he'd tried to sneak out that morning only to find Tamatoa had thrown out his shoes and made him stick around for breakfast, though her amusement quickly gave way to shock when she heard the price of his new shoes.

"Wow. So he wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to be your sugar daddy." She said after a lengthy pause. Maui sighed as he dropped down in his desk chair across from her, suddenly bone tired.

"That’s the thing, I don’t know what he wants." He thought Tamatoa liked him but he couldn’t tell if the other was sincere or if he was just playing the long game.

"Well, what do you want?" Moana asked and while it should have been easier to figure out his own feelings since they were, you know, _his_ , that was apparently not the case. He felt something for Tamatoa, or at least he'd been getting there, but after yesterday he wasn’t sure what he felt anymore. When he thought Tamatoa just wanted to fuck him he'd been hurt, he'd then smothered that hurt in anger because that at least was easier to bear. In the end his anger hadn't lasted because Tamatoa didn’t want to sleep with him, not without him wanting it first any way, and now he was just so confused about it all—his own feelings and Tamatoa's—he couldn’t make heads or tails out of any of it.

He let out a long-suffering sigh. "I don't know."

Moana gave him a compassionate look.

"Listen, you're clearly hung up on this guy. If anyone else had pulled something like this you would have punched them in the face." He snorted. Fair enough.

Moana continued. 

"These past few weeks you've been the happiest I've seen you in a long time and if he makes you feel that way then maybe there's something there that deserves to be given a chance." Maui blinked at the girl, considering her words. He _was_ happier since he'd met Tamatoa, their friendship felt so natural it was almost like he'd known the other for years instead of weeks. It was the fear of losing that friendship that held him back before but maybe if he opened himself up to the possibility of something more he didn’t have to lose it, might even gain something infinitely precious.

A feeling he didn’t want to give a name to just yet glowed in his chest.

He never thought he'd be getting dating advice from his little sister but maybe she was right.

He smiled. "When did you become so wise about this sort of thing?" Moana crossed her arms and gave a confident nod.

"I've always been the master of romance." He cocked a brow at her self-assured look.

"Oh yeah? How's Ariel doing?" He grinned as Moana's face flushed.

"Fine."

\--- 

Maui stared at his phone, equal parts determined and terrified.

He was going to tell Tamatoa how he felt.

He'd made up his mind after his conversation with Moana yesterday, if he wanted any kind of relationship with Tamatoa—romantic or otherwise—he had to come clean, for his own sake.

It was still early, not even noon yet but he couldn’t wait any longer. He opened his messenger and sent the other a text.

_We need to talk._

A second later he added;

_Somewhere private._

He tucked his phone back in his pocket so he wouldn’t be tempted to check it for a reply every other second and tried to distract himself with some reading.

Imagine his surprise when Tamatoa called him not two minutes later.

He stared at the screen for a second, heart rate picking up pace.

He answered.

"Is this about Friday night?" The other asked in lieu of a greeting. Maui blinked, his brain needing a second to process the question.

"Yes. No. It's about… us." He cringed at his stumbling attempt to speak. He shook his head and pressed on. "I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. Do you have time to come over?" If he was going to confess his feelings he'd rather do it somewhere he felt comfortable (and where he knew he had ice cream in the fridge if Tamatoa rejected him).

He could tell Tamatoa was surprised by the invitation, pause going on a little too long before he spoke again. "Yes, of course, I was just finishing up some paperwork anyway." He heard the sound of sheets rustling in the background, like Tamatoa was quickly packing something away and Maui had to stop himself from reading too much into it.

He gave the other his address and Tamatoa assured him he would be there as soon as possible before hanging up. He proceeded to spend the next however many minutes silently freaking out until the sound of the buzzer startled him out of it. Quickly moving into the living room he didn’t bother to check as he buzzed the other in and waited beside the door, heart racing. At the first sound of a knock he quickly pulled the door open, revealing Tamatoa standing on the other side with his hand still raised.

"Hey." He said, ignoring the heat creeping up his neck because that had definitely been too eager. Tamatoa smiled, eyes crinkling as he let his hand drop.

"Good morning." He replied. Maui stepped aside to let the other in, closing the door behind him.

"My roommate isn't in right now but we should probably talk in my bedroom in case he comes back." Tamatoa nodded and followed as Maui led him into the bedroom. As he closed the door behind them Maui realized talking in the bedroom might not have been the best idea. His bed and the desk took up most of the space so they had no choice but to stand relatively close to one another.

Tamatoa looked around the room. "Cozy." He remarked and Maui huffed, quirking his brow at the other. He knew for a fact Tamatoa had closets larger than his bedroom and he doubted he considered those 'cozy'. Tamatoa smiled, briefly, before turning serious once more.

"What was it you wished to discuss?"

Nerves filled his chest like wet cement but Maui pushed the compressing feeling down.

"Did you mean what you said Friday? About not wanting to sleep with me until I want it?" He questioned, looking up at Tamatoa.

"Yes."

"Well what if I do. Want it." He said, forcing himself to keep his gaze locked with Tamatoa's.

Tamatoa frowned, brows furrowed. "If you still think you need to repay me—"

"That's not it." Maui interrupted so he could explain.

"I've… had feelings for you for a while now, almost since the beginning really. I was afraid to admit it but when you asked me over to your place it hurt because I thought you just wanted sex and that's not what I want," He stopped, correcting himself. "Well, _it is_ , but not just that." Maui pushed a hand through his hair because standing there after he'd spilled his heart was making him feel embarrassed and fidgety.

"I feel the same way." Tamatoa said. Maui sucked in a breath.

"You do?"

Tamatoa stepped closer, their feet bumping together as their gazes locked.

"I haven't felt the need for a relationship in a long time but since I met you that quickly changed. I will admit that at first I wanted you for your looks but after just one morning together I wanted to give you everything you wanted. I still do." The look Tamatoa gave him had his chest feeling like it might burst and suddenly there was nothing Maui wanted to do more than grab this man and never let him go.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to pull Tamatoa into a kiss.

Tamatoa's mouth was warm, his lips soft and fitting against his perfectly as he lost himself in the wonderful sensation. He'd never understood it when people said they felt sparks during their first kiss. How could anyone think of sparks when they kissed someone? A spark was a flicker and then it was gone. What he felt now was more like the sun had somehow found its way under his skin, warming him from the inside.

He settled his hands on Tamatoa's waist, feeling the other's hands sliding up his chest to grip his shoulders as one kiss became many.

After some time Tamatoa pulled back, chuckling as Maui tried to chase him.

"So does this mean you'll finally accept me as your sugar daddy and let me buy you the things you deserve?" The other asked, smiling his cocky grin.

"I prefer the term boyfriend but sure." He shrugged. He was going to have to accept the fact that Tamatoa would always want to buy him things but as long as he didn’t go overboard with it that was alright.

Tamatoa's nose wrinkled. "Boyfriend sounds so juvenile."

"And sugar daddy sounds mature to you?" He said sarcastically, brows raised.

Tamatoa smirked. "No, but it's kinky." He wiggled his eyebrows and Maui laughed, shaking his head.

"Weirdo. We don't have to put a label on it if we don't want to. It can just be us." He declared, squeezing the other's waist.

"Just us? I like the sound of that." Tamatoa leaned back in and sealed their mouths together again.

God, Maui didn’t think he'd ever get tired of kissing him.

Tamatoa's fingers tangled in his hair and softly tugged, an act which had Maui growling against the other's lips. Tamatoa chuckled, sounding delighted with his response. Not one to be outdone he stumbled backwards and let himself drop back onto his bed, shifting his hands from Tamatoa's waist to his thighs as he pulled the other down into his lap. Their lips briefly separated but when they joined again Tamatoa licked his way into his mouth.

Things were quickly growing heated as their tongues brushed, their breaths quickening as they tried to pull each other closer.

Tamatoa pulled back with a wet smack.

"Before we go any further I need to show you something." Tamatoa said as he extracted himself from Maui's embrace and took a step back. When he started undoing his belt Maui's eyebrows climbed up.

He didn’t know where this was going but he wasn’t complaining.

When Tamatoa let his trousers drop Maui couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking down.

Oh.

Tamatoa had a prosthetic leg. It was a lower leg prosthesis, below the knee on his left side.

Maui was quite familiar with prosthetics considering he was studying to be a physical therapist and all so his surprise quickly passed.

"So that's why you're always leaning slightly to the right." Maui said which was obviously not the reaction the other had been expecting.

Tamatoa frowned, looking down at himself. "I do?"

He shuffled forward to place a hand on Tamatoa's hip. "You put all your weight on your right leg." He explained, gently nudging the other until he was standing straight. "There. You should mind your posture or it's going to give you problems later."

"Well, you're the expert, I guess." It was strange to see Tamatoa at a loss for words, body tense like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"You know it doesn’t bother me, right?"

"Yes, well, you wouldn’t be the first to change your mind." Tamatoa said, avoiding his gaze. Maui shook his head.

"You’ve given me nothing to change my mind over." He watched some of the tension bleed out of the other at those words. Tamatoa gave him a grateful look and pulled his trousers back on. 

The earlier moment had passed but Maui didn’t mind, after all there would be plenty more in the future.

He took Tamatoa's hand and pulled him down to sit beside him.

"Is it okay if I ask how it happened?" He asked, rubbing circles into the other's hand.

Tamatoa took a deep breath.

"I was in a highway collision eight years ago. It was raining and one of the cars ahead of me started swerving and hit another car. After that everything happened so fast I still can't make sense of it, I hit something and something hit me and then I was unconscious for most of it until I was pulled from my car and the paramedics wheeled me into the ambulance." Tamatoa paused, a distant look on his face. "Four people died in that crash. I was just lucky they managed to save one of my legs." He'd noticed Tamatoa had some scarring on his other leg and now he knew it was from the accident.

"Since then I've employed a driver because even though its been almost ten years the thought of getting behind the wheel again still scares me to death. Pathetic, I know." Tamatoa let out a humorless chuckle as he gazed down at his lap.

Maui squeezed his hand. "It's not pathetic, you had a traumatic experience and if you never want to drive a car again then that's your decision to make." Maui reassured. He held his arms out and when Tamatoa didn’t move back he took that as his cue that he was okay with being touched and hugged the other.

"Thank you for telling me." He said, Tamatoa's arms coming up to hug him back. They stayed like that for a while and when they separated Tamatoa gave him a smile that wasn’t so forced.

They kissed again but it was different from before, softer and heavier at the same time.

Real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man things got heavy there at the end. I agonized for a while over how to address Tama's leg and I hope it came out alright.
> 
> On a lighter note the boys are together now! (finally am I right?) I'm gearing for 10 or 11 chapters on this fic so we're nearing the end station but there's still some goodness to come before then.
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lost my entire weekend to visiting family members to celebrate birthdays and the entire time I was there all I could think of was not being able to write. Don't these people understand I don't have time for social obligations when I have fics I need to work on!

"You know, I thought things would be different." Maui said over breakfast, as usual. Tamatoa sat across from him, their legs touching beneath the table.

"Why is that?"

"We've been dating for a week but it's like nothing's changed. Not that I'm saying anything has to change," He quickly interjected. "but we haven't even gone on a date yet." That was mostly his fault too. He was always busy with school and work and it made him feel like he was neglecting the other and they hadn't even hit their first big milestone yet.

Tamatoa, at least, didn’t appear to be bothered by it which was a slight comfort.

"Well take a day off from work and we'll go somewhere." He said, shrugging a shoulder.

Maui considered it. He normally didn’t take time off from work unless he absolutely had to but he found himself wanting to to spend more time with Tamatoa.

One day couldn’t hurt. Maybe he could trade shifts with someone, that way he wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to make his rent this month.

(A little voice in the back of his head told him that if he did run into trouble Tamatoa would help him out, not because he felt obligated to but because he cared about him.)

He gave the other a nod. "Where do you want to go?"

Tamatoa thought about it for a moment then snapped his fingers, smiling.

"Let me take you shopping."

Maui blinked.

"You want to buy me new clothes?" When he'd suggested going on a date he hadn't expected Tamatoa to pick something _for him_. Then again he supposed he was due for an update. His new shoes looked rather out of place paired with his faded jeans and dollar store t-shirts but knowing Tamatoa they weren't talking about just a couple of new shirts and socks here.

"As long as you're okay with that?" Tamatoa asked and Maui was glad he was being so considerate. He knew the other man was just waiting for the opportunity to spoil him but he was still getting used to that.

He scratched the back of his neck. "I guess, I usually don't have the money to go shopping so I don't go all that often but if that's what you want to do I'm all for it." He'd never gone shopping for fun before since he bought most of his clothes on sale or in thrift stores. He elected not to tell the other that though for fear that he might keel over.

"It's been a while since I've splurged on clothes myself." Tamatoa said. "I love shopping but I always confine myself to suits because they're slimming."

Maui frowned. "That's the whole reason you're always wearing suits? Weren't you the one who said who cares what other people think?" He didn’t think Tamatoa had any issues with his looks since he acted so confident all the time but then he remembered how self-conscious the other got when he showed him his leg.

"Perhaps, but image is everything, babe, and I don’t have the fortune of having a great body like you." Tamatoa smiled at him and while Maui appreciated the compliment he disagreed with the other's claim that he didn’t have a good body.

"I think you look fine." More than fine if you asked him. Sure, Tamatoa wasn’t as built as him but then most people weren't (he was just genetically predisposed to muscles, it was the only good thing his parents ever gave him). Besides, he liked that Tamatoa was a little softer, it made kissing him all the more enjoyable.

Determined to get Tamatoa to appreciate his body as much as he did an idea came to him.

"Alright, I'll let you dress me up to your hearts content if you let me pick an outfit for you."

Tamatoa raised his brows at him but Maui could tell he was intrigued. "As long as you promise not to make me wear anything stupid."

"Don’t worry, I won't make you dress in a tanktop and jorts." He reassured the other.

Tamatoa snorted. "You'd be hard pressed to find those where we're going, darling."

\---

Next Saturday Tamatoa picked him up for their date. As he slipped in to the backseat of the car he felt strangely giddy, he'd never been picked up for a date before.

Tamatoa smiled at him and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "Good morning."

"Morning." Maui replied, smiling back. He buckled his seatbelt and Tamatoa signaled the driver to pull back onto the road. The drive into town didn’t take long and before he knew it they were pulling up to a large building with well dressed mannequins posed in the windows. They exited the car and after giving instructions to the driver Tamatoa placed a hand on the small of his back and lead him inside.

The store was a lot larger than he'd expected, with dark floors and grey walls that gave the place a warm feeling while the high windows and spotlights made it feel light and open.

As they walked further into the shop they were greeted by a professional looking woman with warm eyes and dark skin.

"Mr. Teururai, it's good to see you again." She inclined her head and smiled at them.

"Hello, Cynthia. Could you please call Pascal? I've brought someone who needs their measurements taken."

She nodded. "Of course, Sir. Please wait here a moment."

Maui gave the other a questioning look. "Why do I need my measurements taken when I already know my size?"

Tamatoa smiled. "A simple Medium or Large isn't going to cut it here, I'm afraid. We'll need to know your exact measurements for the clothes to fit properly." He explained. Maui nodded and didn’t question it any further, figuring it was part of the process of shopping at a place like this.

Cynthia returned and led them to a separate area where he was made to stand on a raised plateau. A man held a tape measure along various parts of his body as he rattled off numbers which Cynthia took down on a tablet.

"Will you be needing a suit made today?" She asked after the tailor dismissed him and he'd stepped off the platform. Tamatoa shook his head.

"Perhaps next time. We'll stick with every day wear for now." Maui didn’t know what he'd ever need a suit for but he was sure Tamatoa could think of a reason to buy him one anyway.

Back in the main part of the store he tried not to stare at all the obviously expensive clothing that hung on the racks. The clothes were all sorted by brand; Prada, Armani, Marc Jacobs, all brands he couldn’t even afford to look at let alone shop in. Tamatoa, on the other hand, had no problem picking things out and asking for his opinion.

Maui had never been picky when it came to clothes, if it fit he'd wear it, but Tamatoa insisted he have a say in the clothes he picked since he was the one who had to wear them. He liked most of the things the other chose for him, though some did get a little crazy—there was this one that looked like someone had too much cotton candy and threw up on a jacket which got an outright ' _No_ ' from him. When Tamatoa laughed it was clear the other man had only held it up as a joke and thought the jacket was horrible as well.

Cynthia seemed to take it all in stride, occasionally tapping something on her tablet when Tamatoa nodded at her and providing information on things like fabric and color options when prompted.

Once they'd gone through most of the store Tamatoa turned to him with an excited grin.

"Let's start with these for now." Maui's eyes widened as he looked at the collection of clothes Cynthia had draped over her arm.

"Start?" How many outfits was Tamatoa planning to have him try on?

"Yes, I had Cynthia note down the rest, she'll bring them over while you're trying these on." 

Powerless to protest he let Tamatoa usher him over to the dressing area and into one of the fitting rooms. As Cynthia handed him the clothes Tamatoa instructed him on what went with what; "The dark blue sweater with the grey slacks. The striped button down with the black jeans. The burgundy blazer with the white dress shirt." Maui's mind boggled trying to keep track of it all.

As he stood in the middle of the dressing room, arms full of clothes, Tamatoa leaned in until he could feel the other's hot breath on his skin. "I'm excited to see you in these." He purred, winking as he pulled back and closed the door behind himself. 

Well, Maui thought as he stared down at the clothes in his arms, he'd better get on that.

After he'd hung everything up in the (hopefully) correct order he decided to start with the button down. The shirt was black with thin red stripes slashed across it in an uneven pattern and as he pulled it on he couldn’t help but marvel at how soft it felt against his skin. He did up the little black buttons and folded the cuffs up before cautiously moving his arms but when the shirt didn’t so much as strain he felt himself relax a little. The jeans were next and while he'd always believed expensive jeans couldn’t be that much different from cheaper ones he did notice that the fabric was a lot thicker and would probably last longer than what he usually bought.

When he turned around to face the mirror he hardly recognized himself.

Bright red streaks stood out against the darkness of the rest of his outfit, a pop of color that drew the eye in a way that couldn’t be avoided. He stared at himself, slowly dragging his gaze over every little detail.

He looked hot.

He squared his shoulders, tossed his hair back, and winked at his reflection.

Definitely hot.

Now to find out what Tamatoa thought.

He tried to keep the smirk off his lips as he opened the door and stepped out. Tamatoa had sat down on one of the brown sofas in the room and was quietly talking with Cynthia about something but fell silent mid-speech to stare at him.

He couldn’t keep the smirk of his face then, a hot sensation building low in his stomach as the other man drank his fill of him. Tamatoa stared at him unabashedly, gaze intense as he appeared to soak in every inch of him.

After a long moment the other finally spoke, voice a little huskier than normal. "I believe we can note this one down as yes." Maui wholeheartedly agreed and as he turned around to head back into the dressing room he made sure to put a little extra swing in his step.

Slowly, he tried on every outfit Tamatoa had picked out for him until he was down to the last one.

"Can you take the jacket off?" Tamatoa asked and Maui did, holding on to it with two fingers as he tossed it over his shoulder. The shirt he was wearing was one of his favorites of the day, the upper part of it was black while the rest was a shade of dark grey. It fit snugly across his chest but was not so tight that he was afraid he'd rip it if he made a wrong move.

Tamatoa looked at him, considering. 

He flexed his chest, shirt pulling a little tighter.

"Add it."

Once he'd changed back into his own clothes he met up with Tamatoa and Cynthia as they went over the list of clothes he and Tamatoa had decided on. According to the list he now had eight shirts, three blazers, four sweaters, three slacks, and five pairs of jeans to add to his wardrobe.

It was more clothes than he'd bought for himself in the past five years and yet Tamatoa seemed to think it wasn’t enough.

Seeing a distraction was in order he leaned in and pecked the other on the cheek. "You don't have to buy me a whole new wardrobe today, yknow. We can come back another time." He smirked. "Besides, it's my turn to play dress up with you now." Tamatoa raised his brows at him, smile pulling at his lips.

"Cynthia, please make sure he doesn’t try to make me wear polka dots with stripes or something equally horrendous." Tamatoa pleaded dramatically.

She sniggered. "Of course, Sir."

Tamatoa stayed behind as Cynthia led him back out onto the store floor.

"Did you have anything in mind, Sir?" Maui wanted to say she didn’t have to call him sir but knew that it was part of her job so he didn’t.

"I don't know honestly." He admitted, looking around the store, lost.

She gave him an understanding smile.

"First time shopping without a budget?"

"Yeah."

"It can be a bit overwhelming but it helps to weed out what you're not looking for."

That was easy enough to do.

"Well, he's always wearing suits so I want to see him try on something a bit more relaxed." He said.

Cynthia nodded. "Casual, then. How about jeans?"

"Jeans sound good."

"Let's start there then."

She took him to a table with several folded stacks of jeans in a variety of colors. He tried to picture what would look good on Tamatoa but he wasn’t sure what would fit him. Luckily Cynthia was a lot better at picking out clothes than he was and together they eventually decided on a pair of dark blue jeans with a slightly lighter contrast over the knees.

With the jeans as a base Cynthia led him to a collection of short sleeved button downs. One shirt in particular caught his eye and as he looked at it closely he noticed there was a shiny diamond pattern woven into the fabric. The fabric was soft to the touch and sky blue in color which would really bring out the brown of Tamatoa's skin. Decision made they returned to the dressing area.

Tamatoa looked intrigued when Maui handed him the clothes and strutted off into the changing room with a pleased grin.

He waited eagerly for the door to open, the picture he had of the other man in the clothes he'd chosen for him making his stomach flutter.

A few minutes later the door opened and Tamatoa stepped out.

Maui gaped.

He couldn’t believe how different the other man looked wearing just a shirt and jeans instead of his usual suit and tie getup. Tamatoa had left the top two buttons on the shirt undone and Maui's eyes zeroed in on the bit of flesh on display. He trailed his gaze down the other's chest next, feeling himself growing hotter the further down he went. The jeans fit Tamatoa perfectly and he was tempted to ask him to turn around so he could have a look at his ass but managed to refrain.

He turned to Cynthia. "Do you have this shirt in any other colors?"

"I can have a look for you." She offered.

He nodded. "Please." Maui watched her go. The moment she turned the corner he crowded Tamatoa back into the cubicle, quickly pulling the door closed behind them before attacking the other's mouth.

Tamatoa chuckled as Maui eagerly dipped his tongue inside his mouth, letting him kiss him for half a minute before pulling away, smirking.

"You like this outfit that much, hm?" Tamatoa grinned.

"Shut up and let me kiss you." He growled, trying to pull the other back down. Tamatoa tilted his head back, gasping on a laugh as Maui nibbled at his neck instead.

"How do you think I felt watching you all dressed up? All the things I wanted to do to you." Tamatoa said, voice low.

"Well here's your chance." He trailed his hands down to cup Tamatoa's ass, pulling the other closer against him. They met for a kiss, tongues brushing as the sound of wet noises and loud panting filled the air. Tamatoa dug his fingers into his hair, moaning as Maui rolled their hips together.

He definitely felt some interest against his leg there.

Just as he was starting to wonder how far things were going to go someone loudly knocked on the door.

"Sirs? Please refrain from any sexual activity on store premises or I'm afraid I'll have to call security." Cynthia said from the other side of the door. They separated abruptly, breathing heavy and skin flushed.

Maui couldn’t believe he got so carried away he'd forgotten they were in a public place, in a really expensive store where it was definitely not appropriate to make out in the changing rooms. His face grew hotter, wondering what Cynthia had to be thinking about them.

Tamatoa managed to compose himself first, clearing his throat and schooling his face—even though there was no disguising how kiss swollen his mouth was—as he opened the door.

"My apologies, Cynthia. It won't happen again." Tamatoa said. Luckily they didn’t seem to be in any serious trouble since she smiled at them.

"It's okay, Sir, I know how quickly things can escalate in a new relationship." She said. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Tamatoa looked at the shirts she'd collected and turned to him. "Maui, what do you think; navy or grey?"

He peeked around the other, face still flushed. "Uhm, I like them both."

"We'll take both. Can you ring these up along with the rest?"

"Of course, Sir." She said and left again.

Tamatoa turned back to him, looking more amused than embarrassed to have been caught. Seeing the other barely holding back a grin had Maui smiling as well.

"We probably shouldn’t do that again. At least not in public." He said.

"Probably for the best, yes." Tamatoa agreed. "Though we should definitely continue that somewhere more private."

Maui raised his brow, lips curled up. "Oh, should we?"

Tamatoa stepped closer, their bodies touching as he gazed down at him. "We should."

He wanted to pull the other down into another kiss but instead he leaned in until their lips were almost touching.

"Well, maybe you should get dressed and we can go somewhere more private." He said, smirking as Tamatoa's eyes turned dark with lust.

He pulled back and left the room, grinning to himself as he heard the other hurriedly getting changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man I wonder what will happen next chapter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys sorry for the delay but I was feeling a bit under the weather and trying to write with a migraine never leads to anything good so this chapter took a little longer. I'm all better now though so here's that smut you've all been waiting for ;)

After Tamatoa had paid for their clothes and arranged for them to be delivered to his house they quickly left the store and piled back into the car waiting to take them back to Tamatoa's place.

They spent the drive over in silence, the sexual tension so thick he could have cut it with a knife. Maui wanted nothing more than to continue where they'd left off earlier but he wasn’t about to make out with Tamatoa in the backseat of his car with the driver in the front so he restrained himself. Keeping his hands to himself was hard though, almost impossibly so. His skin felt hot, curls sticking to the back of his neck despite the air conditioning, and as he glanced over at Tamatoa and found the other looking at him with a hungry gaze he only grew hotter.

It felt like ages until they pulled up into the driveway, relief and anticipation rushing over him as the car rolled to a stop. Tamatoa exchanged a quick word with the driver—something about taking the rest of the day off—and then they were outside and the car was pulling away. Their eyes met again and without so much as a word they went inside.

The moment the door closed behind them Tamatoa pushed him up against it, lips seeking his and Maui eagerly embraced him back. He opened his mouth to the other man's tongue when he felt him lick across his lips, kiss turning fever-hot as their tongues rubbed against each other. He tugged the other closer but it wasn’t enough, too many layers where he wanted to feel skin. Realizing they were both wearing too many clothes he set to rectifying that.

He pulled his own jacket off and started working on relieving Tamatoa of his. He fumbled with the buttons, fingers too eager, but managed to get them undone and the jacket pulled off. The vest came off next but when he tried to take the other's tie off his fingers couldn’t make sense of the knot. He knew it would be easy to do if he could just _see_ the knot but to do that he'd have to stop kissing Tamatoa and he didn’t want to. He was getting impatient though, wanting access to the other's skin so with a frustrated grunt he separated their mouths so he could focus on removing the damned thing.

"You know… I was going to take you out to lunch." Tamatoa remarked offhand as he stared down at him with lustful eyes. Maui gave the tie a properly placed tug and it finally came free. He let it fall to the floor with the rest of their clothes as he leaned in to kiss his way up the other's throat.

"We can order something… later." He said as he nipped and sucked at the bare skin making Tamatoa groan, the sound going straight to his crotch.

"Much later." Tamatoa agreed and pulled him back up to slot their mouths together again. Their kiss grew more intense as he tugged at the other's hips and felt the his hardness against his own, hips grinding forward to rut against each other.

"Bedroom." Tamatoa murmured against his lips and Maui followed as he was tugged along. They clumsily made their way upstairs, parting briefly to climb the stairs and going right back to making out when they reached the top. Shoes were kicked off in the hallway and while he usually took better care of them considering how much they'd cost right now he didn’t care at all as Tamatoa led him into his bedroom. They undressed each other, though evidently Tamatoa had a much easier time with it than he did as he felt his fly being undone and his jeans pulled down while he was still working on the buttons on the other's shirt. He hurried to pull the rest of Tamatoa's clothes off, needing to see all of him right that second.

When he finally had the other naked Maui let his eyes trail down Tamatoa's body, taking in his broad shoulders, wide chest, soft stomach, and thick thighs. _Gods_ , how badly he wanted to put his hands on every part of his body, to touch him until he was drowning in pleasure.

While he was drinking his fill Tamatoa was doing the same, eyes burning a blazing trail down his body before coming to a sudden stop. He looked up to find the other staring at his legs, or more specifically, at the lines of ink decorating his skin.

The tattoo covered his both of his legs from hip to ankle and signified his rite of passage into adulthood. He had it done the day he turned eighteen, the Waialiki's by his side to support him through the long and painful ordeal. By the time it was done it was late in the evening and he was so sore he could barely move but the pain had been worth it for what it had given him; a sense of right he had been missing his entire life.

"Hope you're not turned off by tattoos." He quipped, though he couldn’t help but feel a little worried. He was proud of his tattoo, as it had been a painful but strengthening experience, but he knew not everyone was as fond of the art as he was.

"Are you kidding me, who could be turned off by this?" Tamatoa said and Maui felt the knot of anxiety in his chest dissipate. Tamatoa pushed him down on the bed and dropped to his knees in front of him, staring intently at the lines of ink as he ran his fingers over them.

"Next time I'm going to trace all these lines with my tongue." The other declared, hungrily, and Maui's dick twitched in response. Tamatoa smirked at the reaction, eyes flashing as he wrapped a hand around him and stroked. He gasped, the sound turning into a moan as Tamatoa squeezed a little tighter, hand moving faster.

Fuck that felt good.

Tamatoa set a steady rhythm, thumbing at his slit on every upstroke as he stared at him with those wicked eyes. Maui swallowed, breathing becoming heavy as he fought the urge to push into the other's fist.

Much as he was enjoying this he had something else in mind for today.

Moving the other's hand away he grabbed Tamatoa's wrist and pulled him up and onto the bed with him, rolling them over so he had the other beneath him. He kissed him again, Tamatoa's hands tugging at his hair as their hips rolled together. He pulled back to look at the other man.

"Can I take your leg off?" He asked, softly. Tamatoa nodded, face open, and Maui spent some time kissing him as he let his hands trail downwards. He released the pin holding his leg in place and removed the prosthetic then pulled off the sleeve and liner before leaning over the side of the bed to place the limb on the floor. Moving back he ran a hand over the other's leg, testing, and when Tamatoa didn’t pull back used his hands to massage the stiffness from his leg. Tamatoa groaned appreciatively and Maui smiled, glad to know he still had that magic touch.

At some point in the future he'd have to give Tamatoa the full treatment but right now he had bigger plans. Releasing his leg Maui shot the other a wolfish grin.

"On your stomach." He said. Tamatoa quirked a brow at the order but rolled over, just as eager to get on with things as he was. Maui took a moment to look at the other all spread out for him. He ran his hands up the back of Tamatoa's thighs, over his deliciously plump behind and up his broad back before moving back down again to cup his ass. He spread the other's cheeks and leaned in, licking a wet, hot stripe across his hole. He circled the muscle, dragging his tongue up and over in slow, dirty licks as Tamatoa let out gasping little sounds with every swipe of his tongue.

Tamatoa jolted, thighs trembling as he breached the other with his tongue. " _Fuck_." Maui resisted the urge to chuckle, lapping at the sensitive flesh and pushing his tongue in deeper instead. A litany of curses spilled from the other's lips and he wondered if he could make him come like this when Tamatoa suddenly twisted away. He looked up to find the other looking at him over his shoulder.

"If you don’t put your fingers inside me right now I'm finishing this without you." Tamatoa said, demanded really, his voice wrecked and Maui did laugh then.

"Pushy." He said but did as he was told. He worked a finger in slowly, sinking in to the hilt before pulling out and adding a second one, moving the two together. Tamatoa groaned as Maui fingered him with only his saliva to slick the way, muscles tight around him.

"See, if you hadn't been so impatient I could have grabbed the lube and made it easier on you. Or maybe you like it like this, huh? Like it a little rough. Want me to slap your ass and pull your hair?" Tamatoa keened, rolling his hips back onto his fingers as he thrust into him.

So that's how it was then.

He chuckled.

"Next time, baby. Right now I really need to fuck you and I'm not doing that without lube." Tamatoa might like it rough but fucking him dry was rougher than Maui was willing to go.

"Top drawer." Tamatoa panted, waving a hand at the bedside drawer. He pulled his fingers out to retrieve the bottle of lube and returned before the other could get too impatient. As he pushed his fingers back inside and parted them he grabbed the bottle with his other hand and squirted the lube right between the gap of his fingers. Tamatoa eeped as the cold liquid spilled into him, back arched as his inner muscles clamped down on Maui's fingers. He glared at him over his shoulder, face flushed bright red.

"Whoops." Maui grinned unapologetically. Tamatoa continued to glare at him but then Maui moved his fingers, easier now because of the lube, and his eyes fluttered shut as he moaned. He kissed his way up the other's spine as he opened him up, rubbing his fingers along his inner walls and making note of that particular spot that had him moaning when he brushed against it. Once he had three fingers easily sliding in and out of the other's hole Tamatoa started pleading for him to fuck him already. "Now, now, _get in me now_."

He was tempted to tease him, maybe fuck him with his fingers until he had him on the edge but he was getting pretty desperate himself so he pulled his fingers out, lined himself up with the other's hole and pushed in. He had to take a deep, shuddering breath once he was finally in, draping himself over Tamatoa's back to let the both of them adjust. It only took half a minute before the other was grinding up against him, trying to get him to move.

"Come on, need it so bad." Tamatoa panted, sounding so needy Maui couldn’t possibly resist. He pulled the other up with him until he had him on his hands and knees, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back in again. Tamatoa had his hands fisted in the sheets, face down in the mattress as Maui fucked him.

That just wouldn’t do. 

Maui wanted to see him. Wanted to watch him fall apart.

He pulled out and flipped the other over, taking in the surprise on his face as he easily maneuvered him until he had him just how he wanted him. Tamatoa gasped as he pushed in again, hands grabbing onto his back and nails digging into his skin as he held on to him. He started slowly but quickly picked up the pace, thrusting harder, his pleasure growing with every slap of his hips against the other's ass. Tamatoa tried to meet his thrusts but pinned beneath him he couldn’t quite match the pace.

"Can't keep up, old man?" Maui teased, smirking. Tamatoa growled, the sound sending shivers down his spine.

"I'll show you old." The other said, pushing hard against his shoulders and not having expected that he lost his balance, landing on his back. Tamatoa climbed on top of him, straddling him as he took a hold of his dick and lowered himself back down. Maui tossed his head back, eyes wrenched shut as he felt himself being slowly engulfed by the other's wet heat. When Tamatoa started to ride him he couldn’t decide it teasing him was the best decision he'd ever made or the worst.

He gripped the other's hips, pulling him down harder, faster. Tamatoa's cock slapped against his stomach as he bounced in his lap and he realized he'd been severely neglecting that particular part of him. He wrapped a hand around the other's cock, moving it in time with his thrusts. Tamatoa moaned, moving forward into his fist and back onto his dick, hips rolling like waves across the shore.

He could feel that familiar pressure starting to build, burning its way through his veins. He moved his hand faster, wanting to see the other come before he did. Tamatoa shoved himself up and down on his cock, looking like he was _oh so close_ and Maui thrust up, meeting the other as he pushed down. He must have hit the right spot because Tamatoa tossed his head back, face scrunched up in pleasure as he came and suddenly it was all too much for him. His orgasm knocked the air out of him, whiting out his vision for a handful of seconds as he lost himself to the powerful sensation.

He panted as he came down from his rush, slowly becoming aware of a weight on his chest. Tamatoa was folded over him, breathing heavy as well as he recovered from his orgasm. It took a minute before he felt the other shift and he gasped as Tamatoa pulled off him and flopped down next to him. He turned his head to look at the other and Tamatoa did the same. Their eyes met but they said nothing, content to lay together quietly sharing in the afterglow.

Maui's stomach rumbled.

Or not so quietly.

He laughed. "Must have worked up an appetite." He pat his stomach and Tamatoa chuckled.

"I can imagine." Tamatoa said, smiling. "Let's get cleaned up and then we can order something to eat." That sounded like an excellent idea, he was starting to get a bit chilly from all the sweat drying on his skin, among other things. 

He heaved himself upright, spotting the other's prosthetic where he'd left it on the floor.

"You need your leg?" He asked but Tamatoa shook his head.

"Later. Just help me over to the shower." Tamatoa shuffled over to the edge of the bed and Maui held out a hand to help him up.

"A hand instead of a leg, then." He joked as he pulled the other up. Tamatoa rolled his eyes, trying to act like he wasn’t smiling as he slung an arm over his shoulder.

"I cant believe I let you put your dick inside me."

Maui laughed. "You loved it."

After getting cleaned up Tamatoa loaned him some pajama pants to lounge around in (just the pants since none of his shirts fit him) as they waited for their food. After lunch—pizza, his choice—they snuggled up on the couch, a movie playing in the background that neither of them really paid attention to, preferring to map the shape of each other's mouths with their tongues instead.

"Spend the night?" Tamatoa asked, eyes warm and Maui nodded.

"Yeah, okay."

There was nowhere else he'd rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the epilogue and then this journey will be at an end you guys
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter you guys I almost can't believe it.

The sun was just starting to set when Maui parked the car. The rose-tinted skyline was offset by the familiar sight of palm trees and the glittering ocean in the distance. The view was just as beautiful as the first time he'd seen it, filling him with a sense of nostalgia.

If the sight was calming to him it was the exact opposite to Tamatoa.

Tamatoa stood next to the car, his shoulders tense and his hands clenched into fists by his side. Maui walked over to take his hand and the fist loosened enough for him to lace their fingers together. "You okay?"

Tamatoa let out a deep sigh.

"Is it too late to cancel? Or to reschedule? How about we do this next week? Or a month from now?" The other pleaded, looking at their destination with a panicked look in his eyes. Maui shook his head. He still couldn’t believe Tamatoa was actually nervous about meeting the Waialiki's.

"You can't put this off forever, y'know. Besides, cancelling now will just give them a bad impression of you and didn’t you say you wanted to make a good first impression?" He reminded the other.

Tamatoa sighed again.

"Yes, but I meant at a nice restaurant where I know no one is going to threaten me with any sharp objects." Maui rolled his eyes. Now he was just being overdramatic.

"No one is going to threaten you. They want to meet you, not crucify you." They'd been dating for three months now and—according to Moana—that was when you were supposed to bring your significant other over for dinner so that your family could embarrass you in front of them.

Really, if one of them was supposed to be dreading tonight it should be him.

"Come on. The longer we keep them waiting the worse it's going to be." He tugged the other up the short path to the Waialiki residence. They stopped in front of the door and Tamatoa gulped, Adam's apple bopping. Maui smoothed a reassuring hand over the lapel of his jacket.

"There's no reason to be nervous. You already won over Moana so charming Tui and Sina should be a piece of cake." Moana had pestered him to let her meet Tamatoa the moment he told her they were together. He rebuked her several times, saying things weren't that serious yet but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. He'd caved eventually (as she knew he would) and after warning Tamatoa had introduced them to each other over lunch. To his surprise they actually got along quite well.

"That was easy, I just offered to buy her a boat." Tamatoa shrugged but did relax a fraction.

"It was more than that and you know it. We might not be related by blood but she's still my sister and she wants what's best for me and if I say you're what's best for me that’s enough of a reason to give her approval." He said, looking the other in the eye, making sure he knew exactly how much he mattered to him. "Though the boat did help." He added, winking. Tamatoa smiled and he leaned up to press a quick kiss to that smile.

"You're amazing and they're going to love you." He declared and knocked on the door. It swung open immediately to reveal Moana smirking at them from the open doorway. "It's about time you knocked, we were wondering how long you were going to stand out there."

Maui raised a brow. "Eavesdropping, little sis? That's not very polite."

Moana rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Like you'd even know the first thing about being polite." He was about to retort, which would have no doubt spiraled them into a classic case of sibling bickering, but he was interrupted before he could say anything.

"Moana leave the poor boys alone and let them in already." Sina called out, appearing from the kitchen, the look on her face one of fond exasperation. "Teenagers, they're just overgrown children. I'm glad you grew out of that, Maui."

"Of course." The moment she turned away he stuck his tongue out at Moana to which she did the same. Sina ignored their display to greet Tamatoa.

"You must be Tamatoa, Maui and Moana have both told me about you. I'm Sina." She held out her hand and Tamatoa took it, shaking it.

He smiled. "Only good things, I hope."

"Oh yes, Moana wouldn’t stop talking about Maui's amazing boyfriend who was going to buy her a new boat." She quirked a questioning brow at him which Tamatoa took in stride.

"What can I say, you have a very convincing daughter." He said, smoothly. "And a compelling son." Tamatoa looked over at him as he said that and Maui felt his ears flush. Sina chuckled and Moana smiled the smile that promised a lot of teasing in his future. With that comment he seemed to have won Sina over though, if the way she was smiling at them was any indication.

"Tui's in the garden feeding the chickens so he'll be in in a minute. You boys sit down at the table while we get dinner finished." She said, giving them a warm smile before turning back into the kitchen, Moana following behind her.

Tamatoa let out a sigh of relief once they were out of hearing.

"That went better than expected."

"Told you there was nothing to be worried about." He said, bumping their shoulders together. He lead Tamatoa to the living room, they'd only just sat down when the sliding door leading to the garden slid open.

"That chicken is going to give me grey hairs." Tui sighed, eyes directed at the floor. When he looked up and saw them sitting at the table his face lit up with a huge smile.

"Maui, son! When did you get here?" Tui walked over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. Maui smiled.

"Just a few minutes ago." Tui nodded. "Good, good." He looked at Tamatoa, assessing him for a moment before holding his hand out. "Tamatoa, was it?"

"Yes, Sir." Tui waved a hand at the formality.

"Tui is fine, we're practically the same age, after all." Tamatoa tensed for second but when Tui didn’t comment further on or even appeared bothered by the age difference between them let himself relax again.

They talked about easy things, mostly about college and work. When he mentioned Tamatoa had convinced him to take more time off from work Tui nodded approvingly.

Sina and Moana arrived with dinner shortly after and they all sat down to eat.

Dinner went over smoothly, conversation flowing easily. As he watched Tamatoa charm the Waialiki's he felt a warm feeling in his chest, a smile on his face that had everyone at the table smiling as well.

After dinner and dessert and a promise to visit again soon they got back in the car, waving at his family gathered on the porch as they drove off.

"That went well. You seemed to really get on with everyone." He said, glad the night had gone as it had, not at all awkward or forced as he'd been afraid it might.

"They're good people. They care about you a lot."

"Yeah, I'm really lucky." He glanced over at Tamatoa, catching the other's eye and sharing a smile.

The end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go. It's all done now. Eleven weeks went by so fast while writing this it almost feels like no time has passed at all.
> 
> I'm going back to writing crab fics for a while (I miss my sparkly boy) but I'll likely revisit this AU at some point so if you have any prompts or themes you'd like to see written leave me a comment or hit me up on tumblr.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading, you've been the best <3
> 
> Still open to prompts/questions/trades on my tumblr ;)  
> http://pepperedappels.tumblr.com/


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